Nicaragua asked the International Court of Justice on Monday to order Germany to halt military arms exports to Israel and to resume its funding of UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, saying there is a serious risk of genocide in Gaza.
Nicaragua's agent ambassador Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez told the court Berlin had violated the 1948 Genocide Convention by continuing to supply Israel with arms after ICJ judges ruled it was plausible that Israel violated some rights guaranteed under the genocide convention during its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
"There can be no question that Germany (...)was well aware, and is well aware, of at least the serious risk of genocide being committed," in the Gaza strip, Arguello Gomez said.
He told the judges that Berlin was ignoring its obligations under international law by continuing to provide military assistance to Israel.
"This has got to stop," Arguello Gomez said.
The German government rejected Nicaragua's allegations.
"Germany does not, and never did, violate the Genocide Convention nor international humanitarian law, neither directly nor indirectly," Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, a legal advisor for the German Foreign Ministry told journalists at the ICJ.
Berlin will present its case in more detail in court on Tuesday.
Germany's arms export to Israel
Germany has been one of Israel's staunchest allies since war broke out following Hamas’s massacre and hostage-taking on October 7.
Germany is also one of the major arms exporters to Israel, sending 326.5 million euros ($353.70 million) in military equipment and weapons in 2023, according to Economy Ministry data.
Nicaragua's case at the ICJ, also known as the World Court, builds on a genocide case South Africa brought against Israel.
In January the ICJ ruled South Africa's claims that Israel violated some rights guaranteed under the genocide convention during its assault on Gaza were plausible and ordered emergency measures, including a call for Israel to halt any potential acts of genocide.
Germany and the United States are among major donors which suspended funding to UNRWA after allegations that around 12 of its tens of thousands of Palestinian employees were suspected of involvement in the October 7 attacks and that more than a thousand had ties to Hamas or other terror groups. The agency provides vital aid to Gaza, where many people are now believed to be on the brink of starvation.
Berlin has since resumed some funding to UNRWA's regional work in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank, but not to their Gaza branch, a foreign ministry official told Reuters.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.