THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The U.N.’s top court on Tuesday rejected a request by Nicaragua to order Germany to suspend military and other aid to Israel, as well as renew funding for the U.N. aid agency. in Gaza.
The International Court of Justice said the legal conditions for issuing that order were not met and ruled against the request in a 15-1 vote.
“Based on the factual information and legal arguments presented by the parties, the Court concludes that, at this time, the circumstances are not such as to require the exercise of its power… to indicate provisional measures,” said Nawaf Salam, president of court.
However, the 16-judge panel declined to dismiss the case entirely. The court will continue to hear arguments from both sides on the merits of Nicaragua’s case, which claims that Germany did not prevent genocide in Gaza. The process will likely take several months.
Salam said the court “remains deeply concerned about the catastrophic living conditions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, particularly in view of the prolonged and widespread deprivation of food and other basic needs to which they have been subjected.”
He added that the Court “considers it particularly important to remind all states of their international obligations in relation to the transfer of weapons to parties to an armed conflict, in order to avoid the risk that such weapons may be used” to violate laws. international.
The reading of the decision lasted less than 20 minutes.
After the decision, the German Foreign Ministry wrote on the social network X that “no one is above the law. This guides our actions. “We welcome today’s decision by the International Court of Justice.”
“Germany is not part of the conflict in the Middle East; On the contrary: we work day and night for a two-state solution,” the ministry added. “We are the main provider of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. “We are working to ensure that aid reaches the people in Gaza.”
“However, we also see that the terror of October 7 has started this new spiral of suffering, against which Israel must defend itself,” the ministry added. “More than 100 hostages remain in the hands of Hamas, which abuses people in Gaza, using them as shields.”
Germany argued in hearings in the case that it has exported very few weapons to Israel since the start of the Gaza offensive following the deadly incursion by Hamas militants into southern Israel on October 7.
The court noted that Germany had only obtained four licenses to export war weapons to Israel since the beginning of the conflict, two for training ammunition and one for testing, as well as a shipment of “3,000 portable anti-tank weapons.”
Nicaragua, a long-time ally of the Palestinians, claims that Germany allows genocide by sending weapons and other support to Israel. The Court’s decision relates to preliminary orders in the case, which will likely take years to resolve. Germany rejects the accusations.
Israel — which is not a party to the case between Nicaragua and Germany — flatly denies that its operation in Gaza is genocide and insists that it is acting in self-defense.
The Nicaragua case is the latest legal challenge brought by a country with historic ties to the Palestinians to stop the Israeli offensive.
