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Germany on Tuesday defended itself at the International Court of Justice against allegations that it was furthering genocide in Gaza by supplying arms to Israel, saying that such claims were at worst a \u201cdeliberate distortion\u201d of reality and arguing that it had long been a staunch supporter of Palestinian rights.<\/p>\n
Nicaragua brought the case against Germany to the court in The Hague. In hearings that opened on Monday, Nicaragua argued<\/a> that Germany was facilitating the commission of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza by providing Israel with military and financial aid, and it asked for emergency measures ordering the German government to halt its support.<\/p>\n Berlin has denied violating the Genocide Convention or international humanitarian law, and sent a delegation of international lawyers, including some from Britain and Italy, to the U.N. court. On Tuesday, Germany argued that Nicaragua\u2019s allegations were inaccurate and rested on an assessment of military conduct by Israel, which is not a party to the proceedings.<\/p>\n \u201cGermany firmly rejects Nicaragua\u2019s accusations,\u201d Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, the human rights commissioner at Germany\u2019s Foreign Ministry and lead counsel in the case, told the court. \u201cThey have no basis in fact or law.\u201d<\/p>\n Germany is Israel\u2019s second-largest arms supplier<\/a> after the United States and a nation whose leadership calls support for Israel a \u201cStaatsr\u00e4son,\u201d a national reason for existence, as a way of atoning for the Holocaust. But the mounting death toll in Gaza and humanitarian crisis in the enclave have led some German officials to ask whether that backing<\/a> has gone too far.<\/p>\n \u201cGermany has always been a strong supporter of the rights of the Palestinian people,\u201d Ms. von Uslar-Gleichen said. \u201cThis is, alongside Israel\u2019s security, the second principle that has guided Germany\u2019s response to the Middle East conflict in general, and to its current escalation in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2023, Germany approved arms exports to Israel valued at 326.5 million euros, or about $353.7 million, according to figures published<\/a> by the economics ministry. That is roughly 10 times the sum approved the previous year.<\/p>\n Katrin G\u00f6ring-Eckardt, a vice president of Germany\u2019s Parliament, told Deutschlandfunk, a public broadcaster, in an interview aired Tuesday that the German government discusses \u201ceach individual arms delivery and talks with Israel about compliance with international humanitarian law in this military conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n She cited Germany\u2019s \u201cspecial responsibility toward Israel,\u201d especially after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas that prompted Israel to go to war in Gaza, adding: \u201cIsrael\u2019s existence is a matter of state for us.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday, Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, Nicaragua\u2019s ambassador to the Netherlands, told the court that \u201cit does not matter if an artillery shell is delivered straight from Germany to an Israeli tank shelling a hospital\u201d or goes to replenish Israel\u2019s stockpiles. The case brought by Nicaragua raises new questions about the liability of countries that have supplied weapons to Israel for the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n Lawyers say that Germany is an easier target for a suit than is the United States, by far Israel\u2019s main military supporter<\/a>. Germany has granted full jurisdiction to the International Court of Justice. But the United States denies its jurisdiction, except in cases where Washington explicitly gives its consent.<\/p>\n Nicaragua\u2019s case is the third before the court in recent months to focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Earlier this year, the court heard arguments by South Africa<\/a> that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza and ordered the Israeli government to take steps to prevent such atrocities, although it has not ruled on whether genocide was in fact taking place. Israel has strongly denied the genocide allegations.<\/p>\n Some analysts have suggested that the German government\u2019s stance has hardened since Nicaragua notified Germany on Feb. 2 of its intended court filings. There is also increasing concern that the global outrage is so strong that the perception of unconditional support from Germany was damaging important international relationships.<\/p>\n The foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, recently noted that Germany is a signatory to the Geneva Conventions and said it would send a delegation to Israel as a reminder of the duty to abide by international humanitarian law.<\/p>\n Christopher F. Schuetze contributed reporting.<\/p>\n