By Stephanie van den Berg
THE HAGUE (Reuters) -Germany denied accusations on Tuesday that it was aiding genocide in Gaza by selling Israel arms in a suit to the top U.N. court by Nicaragua reflecting mounting legal action in support of Palestinians.
Germany has been one of Israel's staunchest allies since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants and retaliatory offensive. It is one of its biggest military suppliers, sending 326.5 million euros ($353.70 million) in equipment and weapons in 2023, according to Economy Ministry data.
Germany and other Western nations have faced street protests, various legal cases, and accusations of hypocrisy from campaign groups who say Israel has killed too many Palestinian civilians in its six-month assault.
But Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, legal adviser for the German Foreign Ministry, told the International Court of Justice, or World Court, that Nicaragua's case was rushed, based on flimsy evidence and should be thrown out for lack of jurisdiction.
Arms exports were scrutinised for adherence to international law, she said.
"Germany is doing its utmost to live up to its responsibility vis-a-vis both the Israeli and the Palestinian people," she added, with Germany the largest individual donor of humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
Von Uslar-Gleichen said Israel's security was a priority for Germany given the history of the Nazi decimation of Jews. "Germany has learned from its past, a past that includes the responsibility for one of the most horrific crimes in human history, the Shoah," she said, using the Hebrew word.
A lawyer for Germany, Christian Tams, told the court that since Oct. 7, 98% of arms exports to Israel were general equipment like vests, helmets and binoculars. And of four cases where war weapons exports were approved, he said, three concerned arms unsuitable for use in combat and meant for training.
NICARAGUA AND SOUTH AFRICA PRESSURE ISRAEL
Lawyers for Nicaragua have asked the ICJ to order Germany to halt arms sales to Israel and resume funding of U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA.
They argued Berlin has violated the 1948 Genocide Convention and international law by supplying Israel while aware there was a risk of genocide.
After Tuesday's hearing, Nicaraguan ambassador Carlos Arguello told journalists that the case at this preliminary stage did not hinge on the amount of Germany's military aid but simply its existence.
The Islamist group's Oct. 7 attacks killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's Gaza offensive since then, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.
An ICJ ruling on Nicaragua's requested emergency measures is expected in weeks. A final judgement on the merits of the case usually takes years and the court has no power to enforce it.
In January, in response to an accusation from South Africa, the ICJ ruled that claims Israel violated some rights guaranteed under the genocide convention were plausible and called for a halt to halt any potential acts of genocide.
Israel says its war is against Hamas, not civilians.
($1 = 0.9231 euros)
(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
