Nicaragua has filed an application with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to join South Africa in its genocide case against Israel, the court said on Thursday, according to a report in Reuters.
The court said in a statement that Nicaragua considers that the conduct of Israel is in "violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention".
South Africa and Israel have been invited to furnish written observations on Nicaragua's application for permission to intervene as a party, according to Reuters, which noted that historically, the kind of intervention Nicaragua is requesting has rarely been granted by the ICJ.
The court recently ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide and take steps to improve the humanitarian situation of Gazans, though it stopped short of demanding a ceasefire and has not yet ruled on the core of South Africa's case.
After South Africa filed its ICJ case against Israel, Germany announced it would intervene as a third party in 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.
While Nicaragua has expressed support for the PA in the past, it also renewed diplomatic relations with Israel in 2017, seven years after they were cut off in the wake of the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident.
In 2019, the Palestinian Authority said that Nicaragua had decided to open an embassy in PA-assigned territory in Judea and Samaria.