The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled against issuing emergency measures over German arms sales to Israel as requested by Nicaragua, which had argued that there was a serious risk of genocide in Gaza amid Israel’s assault on the Palestinian territory. Nicaragua brought its case against Germany for allegedly facilitating genocide by being one of Israel’s biggest military suppliers.
The ICJ ruled against the request in a 15-1 vote. “The circumstances are not such as to require the exercise of its power under article 41 of the statute to indicate provisional measures,” presiding Judge Nawaf Salam said on April 30.
However, the judges did not grant the German request to throw out the case altogether. The court will still hear arguments from both sides on the merits of Nicaragua’s case, which will likely take months.
Nicaragua also demanded that Germany resume funding to the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, after Israel alleged that some of its employees were involved in the October 7 attacks that triggered the continuing fighting. Germany has denied the accusations, with its lawyer arguing that Nicaragua’s case was rushed, based on flimsy evidence, and should be thrown out for lack of jurisdiction.
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