Nicaragua on Friday launched a case against Germany at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Germany of facilitating "genocide" in Gaza by giving support to Israel and suspending funding of the UN “Palestinian refugee” agency UNRWA, AFP reported.
Through those measures, "Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide and, in any case has failed in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide," Nicaragua argued in a filing published by the Hague-based court.
Nicaragua asked the court to take a swift interim stance against Germany before the case was given in-depth study by judges.
The Nicaraguan case follows South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ, accusing the Jewish state of carrying out genocide in Gaza.
On January 26, the ICJ handed down a ruling in South Africa’s case, saying that Israel must do everything to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza and take "immediate" measures for aid provisions. It did not, however, order Israel to stop the war in Gaza.
After South Africa filed the case against Israel, Germany announced that it would intervene as a third party in the case and present its own case to the court that Israel has not committed genocide.
Germany’s government said in a statement at the time that there is “no basis whatsoever” for an accusation of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
“We know that different countries assess Israel’s operation in Gaza differently,” government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said. “However, the Federal Government firmly and expressly rejects the accusation of genocide that has now been made against Israel at the International Court of Justice.”
Nicaragua had previously filed an application with the ICJ to join South Africa in its case against Israel, saying it considers that the conduct of Israel is in "violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention".
The ICJ in early February invited South Africa and Israel to furnish written observations on Nicaragua's application for permission to intervene as a party, though the kind of intervention Nicaragua is requesting has rarely been granted by the court.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)