Germany asks UN top court to throw out Israel arms export case

Nicaragua’s claim builds on the case South Africa brought against Israel for allegedly committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

By Reuters and The Algemeiner

Germany asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday to throw out a case brought by Nicaragua, which accuses Berlin of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention because it supplies arms to Israel.

Berlin suspended weapons exports to Israel for a few months in 2025, but they have since resumed.

A US-backed ceasefire that took effect in October 2025 halted large-scale fighting between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas that had devastated Gaza, but it has not ended Israeli strikes or Hamas attacks.

Nicaragua and Germany are both signatories of the Genocide Convention, which includes an obligation on states to act to prevent possible genocides—but it is unusual for the court to hear cases where neither party is directly involved in the conflict at the heart of it.

Israel rejects genocide allegations as politically motivated and says its military campaign has targeted Hamas, whose attack on Israel triggered the war in October 2023.

ARGUMENT OVER JURISDICTION

Nicaragua’s claim builds on the case South Africa brought against Israel for allegedly committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

In January 2024, the ICJ ruled there was “plausibility” to South Africa’s claim that Palestinians have a right to be protected from genocide and that Israel violated some rights guaranteed under the Genocide Convention.

The top UN court, however, did not rule on the merits of South Africa’s allegations—a process that may take years—nor did it order Israel to halt its military campaign.

Instead, it directed Israel to ensure it prevents acts of “genocide.”

The main genocide case is not expected to be heard in full until late 2029.

Israel opposes that case and says it respects international law and has a right to defend itself.

Israeli officials argue that the military has gone to unprecedented lengths to try and avoid civilian casualties, despite Hamas’s widely acknowledged strategy of embedding its terrorists within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeering civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations and direct attacks.

Germany told the ICJ, also known as the World Court, on Monday that Nicaragua had not taken the proper steps before turning to the court and that much of the claim falls outside the jurisdiction it has under the genocide treaty.

“Germany respectfully requests the court to reject Nicaragua’s claims,” Julia Monar, legal adviser of the German foreign ministry, told the judges.

Nicaragua, which broke off diplomatic relations with Israel in 2024 over the war in Gaza, will have a chance on Tuesday to argue why the case should move forward.

A ruling on Germany‘s objection to jurisdiction is expected later this year. Even if the case can continue, it is expected to take years before a final ruling on the merits.

The ICJ is the United Nations’ top court, which deals with disputes between states and alleged violations of numerous international treaties. Its rulings are final and without appeal.

However, the ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel, which is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, as is also the case with other countries, including the United States, that have not signed the court’s founding treaty.

Still, the ICC has asserted jurisdiction by accepting “Palestine” as a signatory in 2015, despite no such state being recognized under international law.