THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – The United Nations Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Nicaragua’s request to order Germany to halt military and other aid to Israel and resume funding to U.N. aid agencies in the Gaza Strip. did.
The International Court of Justice said the legal conditions for issuing such an order were not met.
Germany argued during a hearing in the case that it has exported almost no weapons to Israel since the Gaza offensive began on October 7, following a deadly invasion of southern Israel by Hamas militants.
This is the latest news. Previous articles from the Associated Press are below.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – The head of the United Nations Supreme Court will hold a hearing Tuesday on the judge’s decision on a request to stop Nicaragua from providing German troops and other aid to Israel amid the devastating Gaza conflict. He announced.
Nicaragua, a longtime ally of the Palestinians, claims that Germany is enabling the genocide by sending arms and other aid to Israel. Tuesday’s ruling by the International Court of Justice is only an interim order in a case that is likely to take years to resolve. Germany rejects this claim.
Israel, which is not a party to the lawsuit between Nicaragua and Germany, strongly denies that the attack on Gaza constitutes an act of genocide and claims it was self-defense.
Nicaragua’s lawsuit is the latest legal bid by a country with historic ties to the Palestinian people to stop Israeli attacks.
Late last year, South Africa accused Israel of genocide in court. The incident comes as Israel’s allies face growing calls for an end to arms supplies and as some countries, including Germany, step up criticism of the war.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel must do more to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip.
At a hearing earlier this month, Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Carlos José Argüero Gómez, told a panel of 16 judges that “Germany has fulfilled its obligations to prevent genocide and ensure respect for international humanitarian law. I’m neglecting it,” he said.
Nicaragua also wants Germany to restore direct funding to UN aid agencies in the Gaza Strip.
German defense chief Tania von Ussler-Gleichen said Nicaragua’s claims had “no basis in fact or law.”
Israel strongly denies that the attack on Gaza constitutes genocide, saying it was an act of self-defense after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people. Israeli legal adviser Tal Becker told a judge in a court case brought by South Africa earlier this year that Israel was fighting “a war that we did not start and that we did not want.” .
More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive, according to the Gaza Strip’s Ministry of Health. The death toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but the majority of the dead are women and children.
Israel blames Hamas for the high civilian death toll, as the insurgents are fighting in densely populated residential areas. The military said, without providing evidence, that it had killed more than 12,000 insurgents.
Germany has been a staunch supporter of Israel for decades. However, as civilian casualties in Gaza soar, Berlin has gradually changed its stance, increasing its criticism of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and speaking out against the ground offensive in Rafah.
In the case brought by South Africa, the ICJ ordered Israel in January to do everything in its power to prevent death, destruction and acts of genocide in Gaza. In March, the court issued new interim measures ordering Israel to take steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where experts say starvation is imminent.
Meanwhile, a separate investigation by another international tribunal, the International Criminal Court, also worries Israeli authorities.
The ICC launched an investigation in 2021 into possible war crimes by Israeli and Palestinian extremists dating back to the 2014 Israel-Hamas war. The investigation also looks into Israeli settlement construction in occupied territory where Palestinians hope to form a future state. Israeli authorities have expressed concern in recent days about the possibility of an arrest warrant being issued in the case.
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