Germany on Tuesday defended itself in opposition to accusations that its arms gross sales to Israel have been abetting genocide in Gaza, arguing on the Worldwide Court docket of Justice that many of the gear it has provided since Oct. 7 was nonlethal and that it has additionally been one of many largest donors of humanitarian help to the Palestinians.
The case on the U.N. courtroom in The Hague pits Germany, whose help for Israel is taken into account an inviolable a part of the nation’s atonement for the Holocaust, in opposition to Nicaragua, which introduced the allegations to the courtroom and is a longstanding supporter of the Palestinian trigger.
Debate over Israel’s struggle with Hamas within the Gaza Strip has been muted in Germany, whose management calls help for Israel a “Staatsräson,” a nationwide purpose for existence, and the place individuals have traditionally been reluctant to query that help publicly. However the mounting demise toll and humanitarian disaster in Gaza have led some German officers to ask whether or not that unwavering backing has gone too far.
Legal professionals for Germany mentioned Tuesday that the allegations introduced by Nicaragua had “no foundation in actual fact or legislation” and rested on an evaluation of army conduct by Israel, which isn’t a celebration to the case. Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, an official at Germany’s International Ministry and lead counsel within the case, advised the 15-judge bench that Nicaragua had “rushed this case to courtroom on the premise of flimsiest proof.”
On Monday, Nicaragua argued that Germany was facilitating the fee of genocide in opposition to Palestinians in Gaza by offering Israel with army and monetary help, and it requested for emergency measures ordering the German authorities to halt its help. The courtroom is predicted to determine inside weeks whether or not to order emergency measures.
Some German information media mentioned it was absurd that Germany ought to need to reply to accusations from Nicaragua, whose authoritarian president, Daniel Ortega, has jailed critics or compelled them into exile, and has been accused in a United Nations report of crimes in opposition to humanity.
“Ortega, of all individuals, now seems to need to marketing campaign internationally for the observance of human rights,” an opinion article within the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung mentioned.
Germany is Israel’s second-largest arms provider after the USA. In 2023, Berlin accredited arms exports to Israel valued at 326.5 million euros, or about $353.7 million, in line with figures printed by the economics ministry. That’s roughly 10 instances the sum accredited the earlier yr.
The case in The Hague coincides with rising concern in Berlin that unconditional help for Israel has broken Germany’s different necessary worldwide relationships, particularly as outrage on the civilian demise toll within the struggle has grown around the globe.
Stefan Talmon, a professor of worldwide legislation on the College of Bonn, mentioned the case has supplied a uncommon alternative for some Germans to debate their discomfort with the Israeli offensive, which Gazan well being authorities say has killed greater than 33,000 Palestinians.
The case “put the plight of the Palestinians extra within the sight of odd Germans,” he mentioned.
Sudha David-Whilp, a senior fellow on the German Marshall Fund in Berlin, mentioned, “There’s at all times this concern over how to not slide into antisemitism, however there shouldn’t be this ambiance the place we are able to’t have this debate in any respect.”
Germany and its allies, she mentioned, “see a must defend different democracies like Israel however on the identical time need to ensure their values are revered.”
Analysts say that the German authorities is slowly toughening its stance towards Israel in any case, not due to the courtroom case, however largely due to rising criticism of Israel’s conduct of the struggle from its fundamental ally, the USA.
International Minister Annalena Baerbock just lately mentioned that Germany would ship a delegation to Israel as a reminder of the responsibility to abide by worldwide humanitarian legislation even in struggle.
For a rustic whose leaders have lengthy maintained that the nation’s previous crimes give it a particular responsibility to guard in opposition to genocides, it has been significantly jarring to be taken to courtroom and accused of complicity in a genocide.
The proceedings in The Hague, which concluded Tuesday, have been the third time this yr that the U.N. courtroom — often a low-profile venue for disputes between nations — grew to become a discussion board for nations to place strain on Israel and help Palestinians.
The courtroom heard arguments by South Africa in February that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza and ordered the Israeli authorities to take steps to forestall such atrocities. The courtroom has not dominated on whether or not genocide was in actual fact going down, an allegation that Israel has strongly denied, but it surely instructed Israel to take steps to forestall it.
In a separate case, the courtroom heard arguments on the legality of Israel’s occupation of the West Financial institution, based mostly on a request made greater than a yr earlier by the U.N. Common Meeting.
Authorized consultants have questioned whether or not the worldwide courtroom has jurisdiction within the case introduced by Nicaragua. Legal professionals for Germany argued on Tuesday that it doesn’t, and will throw the case out.
In addition they mentioned that Germany has tried to steadiness the pursuits of each Israel and the Palestinians, and introduced figures exhibiting that Berlin was among the many largest particular person donors to the U.N. and different businesses that present humanitarian help to Gaza.
“Germany has at all times been a robust supporter of the rights of the Palestinian individuals,” Ms. von Uslar-Gleichen mentioned. “That is, alongside Israel’s safety, the second precept that has guided Germany’s response to the Center East battle usually, and to its present escalation specifically.”
Christian Tams, a lawyer for Germany, denied Nicaragua’s claims that Berlin had elevated weapons provides to Israel for the reason that Oct. 7 Hamas assault. He argued that since then, Germany had accredited 4 export licenses for army gear, with three of the licenses for coaching and testing matériel not appropriate for fight. The fourth license was for 3,000 transportable antitank weapons.