International court dismisses Nicaragua’s plea for Germany to stop sending arms to Israel

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) Tuesday (Apr 30) rejected a demand by Nicaragua to force Germany to stop sending military aid to Israel, which has been fighting a deadly war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas since October 7. Nicaragua’s request to make Germany renew its funding to the UN aid agency in Gaza was also dismissed by the court in a 15-1 vote.

“Based on the factual information and legal arguments presented by the parties, the court concludes that, as present, the circumstances are not such as to require the exercise of its power … to indicate provisional measures,” said Nawaf Salam, the court’s president.

Notably, the case against Germany has not been dismissed completely and will continue to be heard in court until it’s resolved. The court also raised concerns regarding the ongoing violence in Gaza.

The court “remains deeply concerned about the catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in particular in view of the prolonged and widespread deprivation of food and other basic necessities to which they have been subjected,” added Salam in his statement.

Nicaragua in its case against Germany argued that it was aiding Israel’s ‘genocide’ in Gaza by selling arms and providing other support.

 Germany on the other hand says it has barely exported any arms to the Jewish nation since the war began on Oct 7 after the Hamas attacks.

Nicaragua’s case comes after South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel last year in the international court.

Earlier this month, Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Carlos José Argüello Gómez, told the 16-judge panel that “Germany is failing to honor its own obligation to prevent genocide or to ensure respect of international humanitarian law.”

Reacting to it, the head of Germany’s legal team, Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, said that Nicaragua’s claims “have no basis in fact or law.”

Israel, which is not a party to the ICJ case, strongly denies it’s committing genocide in Gaza and says it’s acting in self-defence.

Watch: Israel-hamas war: US & Britain hopeful that Hamas will accept Israeli truce proposal

Israeli legal adviser Tal Becker told judges at the court earlier this year in the case brought by South Africa that Israel is fighting a “war it did not start and did not want.”

(With inputs from agencies)