The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Tuesday rejected a request by Nicaragua to issue Germany emergency orders to desist selling arms to Israel, by 15 votes to one, The Guardian reported.
The decision, according to the judgment read in court in The Hague, is largely based on a significant decrease in recent German arms sales to Israel, the largely defensive nature of arms recently sold, and the extensive internal German government processes to consider if arms would be used to prosecute war crimes or genocide.
Nicaragua last month filed a case at the ICJ that seeks an end to German military and other aid to Israel, based on claims that Berlin is “facilitating” acts of genocide.
Germany hit back at accusations from Nicaragua that it has been “facilitating genocide” in Gaza through its support for Israel, insisting that Israeli security is at the "core" of German foreign policy.
The court found that only four licenses for war weapons had been issued by the German government including two for training ammunition. The court accepted that 3,000 portable anti-tank weapons had been supplied, and the license for the sale of a submarine is pending. Germany said 98 % of licenses granted concerned defensive military equipment, not war weapons, according to The Guardian.
The judges also rejected that there was a requirement for Germany to continue funding UNRWA as contributions are voluntary, arguing other means existed to provide humanitarian aid in Gaza.
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.
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".