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<\/a><\/p>\nA general view of the court on the day the International Court of Justice is due to rule on a request by Nicaragua to order Germany to stop exporting weapons to Israel and to reverse its decision to stop funding UNRWA, the Hague, Netherlands, April 23, 2024. (Selman Aksunger\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Germany will no longer intervene on Israel\u2019s behalf, a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry told reporters on Wednesday. South Africa brought a genocide case against Israel in December 2023 at the highest court of the United Nations.<\/p>\n
The U-turn comes after the German government rejected South Africa\u2019s claims as \u201cbaseless\u201d in January 2024, saying they amounted to \u201cpolitical instrumentalization\u201d of the 1948 Genocide Convention, a treaty that outlined the crime under international law in the aftermath of the Holocaust. It said it would file an intervention on Israel\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n
But when that deadline arrived this week, Germany was not among the countries weighing in. It said it could not wade in without compromising its own ICJ case, filed by Nicaragua later in 2024, that alleges that Germany violated international law by supporting Israel in the Gaza war.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are now ourselves part of a contentious case before the ICJ and have therefore decided not to make use of this option,\u201d said foreign ministry spokesperson Josef Hinterseher.<\/p>\n
The ICJ turned down Nicaragua\u2019s request for emergency measures against Berlin but allowed Nicaragua\u2019s case to proceed. Among other demands, Nicaragua called for Germany halt arms shipments to Israel and resume funding for UNRWA, a relief organization for Palestinians. <\/p>\n
Germany joined several other countries in cutting support to UNRWA after Israel alleged that hundreds of its employees were members of terrorist organizations, but later restored funding after an independent review did not find sufficient evidence for Israel\u2019s claims. <\/p>\n
Germany\u2019s failure to file an intervention on Israel\u2019s behalf means Israel is without the support of one of its more stalwart European supporters. Germany is Israel\u2019s second-largest weapons supplier after the United States and has rarely criticized Israel\u2019s prosecution of the war. It lifted a partial arms embargo on Israel in November.<\/p>\n
Hinterseher did not directly answer a question about whether Germany no longer rejects the genocide accusation. \u201cWe categorically reject Nicaragua\u2019s allegations against Germany,\u201d he said. \u201cAll other matters will have to be clarified before the court, and we do not wish to comment further.\u201d<\/p>\n
The United States defended Israel in an intervention submitted last week, saying the genocide claim was part of a broader campaign \u201cto delegitimize the State of Israel and the Jewish people and to justify or encourage terrorism against them.\u201d Paraguay became the first nation to file in support of Israel earlier this month.<\/p>\n
Over 18 countries have submitted interventions, which serve to provide interpretations of the Genocide Convention. Iceland and the Netherlands recently joined the majority of nations filing critical statements about Israel.<\/p>\n
Israel submitted a response to South Africa\u2019s claims last week. Israel\u2019s foreign ministry said the submission, which remains confidential, argued the ICJ lacks jurisdiction in the case and should dismiss it.<\/p>\n