Germany is back before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague over its support for Israel, more than two years after Nicaragua accused Berlin of “facilitating” the Gaza genocide by supplying Israel with weapons. Filed in 2024, the case alleges Germany has breached the Genocide Convention and international humanitarian law. Germany, Israel’s biggest arms supplier after the US, denies the accusations and is seeking to stop the case from proceeding, challenging the admissibility of some of Nicaragua’s claims, as well as the court’s jurisdiction. The ICJ, or World Court as it is widely known, which was set up to rule in disputes between nations, has become a key player in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, following the Hamas-led October 7, 2024 attacks.
A case of genocide brought by South Africa against Israel is ongoing. The hearings in the Netherlands do not yet decide whether Germany, Europe’s largest economy, violated international law. They will determine whether the case can move towards a fuller examination of the allegations. Here is what you need to know: Nicaragua says Germany has violated its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention by providing Israel with military equipment, despite being aware of the risk that genocide could be committed in Gaza.
It has also accused Germany of breaching international humanitarian law. “By sending military equipment and now defunding UNRWA … Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide,” Nicaragua said when it filed the case in March 2024. Germany has long been one of Israel’s strongest international supporters, despite widespread acknowledgement from human rights groups and top genocide scholars that Israel is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory. Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Netherlands, argued in 2024 that Germany had failed “to differentiate between self-defence and genocide”. Nicaragua initially sought emergency orders requiring Germany to halt military assistance to Israel and resume funding for UNRWA.
However, the ICJ rejected those provisional measures in April 2024, but refused to dismiss the broader case. In January 2024, the World Court ruled – as part of a separate case brought by South Africa – that there was “a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice” would be caused to the rights of Palestinians in Gaza under the Genocide Convention. Germany rejects Nicaragua’s allegations and has asked the court to throw out the case. On Monday, Germany told the ICJ that Nicaragua had failed to follow the required steps before bringing the case, and that large parts of its complaint lie beyond the court’s jurisdiction under the Genocide Convention. “Germany respectfully requests the court to reject Nicaragua’s claims,” legal adviser of the German foreign ministry, Julia Monar, told the court’s judges.
Berlin has argued that its weapons exports undergo detailed legal scrutiny. During the 2024 hearings, German lawyer Christian Tams said 98 percent of exports to Israel since October 7, 2023, consisted of general military equipment such as helmets, vests and binoculars. Germany is now making “preliminary objections”, arguing that the ICJ lacks jurisdiction and that some of Nicaragua’s claims are inadmissible. The full details of those objections have not been made public.
A US-brokered ceasefire has been in place since last October, but Israeli attacks have continued. Israeli attacks killed at least four Palestinians on Sunday, including an eight-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy. Gaza’s Ministry of Health says at least 1,344 Palestinians have been killed and 4,464 wounded since the ceasefire took effect. The ministry puts the overall Palestinian death toll since October 2023 at 73,470, with at least 174,540 wounded.
The UN Satellite Centre says 82 percent of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed, while Gaza health authorities, UN agencies and aid groups estimate that 10,000 to 14,000 people remain missing beneath rubble. The immediate jurisdictional dispute could be decided much sooner than the overall case. The ICJ is holding four days of hearings, after which judges must decide whether Germany succeeds in having the case thrown out. Such preliminary rulings take an average of about six months.
If Germany loses this stage, Nicaragua’s allegations would move towards consideration “on the merits” – a process that can take years. For comparison, in South Africa’s separate genocide case against Israel, the ICJ has given South Africa until November 2027 for written pleadings and Israel until May 2029 to respond, meaning hearings on whether Israel committed genocide are unlikely before late 2029 at the earliest. There is therefore no firm date for a final judgement in Nicaragua’s case against Germany – and, if it survives Berlin’s current challenge, a conclusion could still be years away.
