Germany asks ICJ to dismiss Gaza genocide case brought by Nicaragua

Germany asks ICJ to dismiss Gaza genocide case brought by Nicaragua Germany asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday to dismiss a case accusing it of facilitating genocide in Gaza through its military support for Israel. Berlin told the UN's supreme judicial body that Nicaragua had failed to establish the existence of a legal dispute before bringing proceedings in March 2024 and that parts of the case fell outside the court’s jurisdiction. "Nicaragua’s conduct indicates that it was not interested in hearing Germany’s view on its allegations, but simply in bringing Germany before this court," Julia Monar, legal adviser at the German foreign ministry, told judges.

Germany asks ICJ to dismiss Gaza genocide case brought by Nicaragua Submitted by Sondos Asem on Mon, 09/07/2026 - 12:56 Berlin argues that UN court lacks jurisdiction over allegations that it enabled Israeli violations of international law in Gaza Germany's legal representative speaks during Monday's session at the ICJ in The Hague, 7 September 2026 (ICJ website) Off Germany asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday to dismiss a case accusing it of facilitating genocide in Gaza through its military support for Israel. Germany has been Israel’s second-largest arms supplier after the United States. In the opening four days of hearings in The Hague, Berlin also said that Nicaragua had not properly notified it of the allegations or allowed sufficient time for a response before filing the case.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The hearings concern Germany’s preliminary objections to the court’s jurisdiction and the admissibility of Nicaragua’s claims, rather than whether Berlin has breached international law. Nicaragua accuses Germany of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention and international humanitarian law by supplying weapons and other military assistance to Israel despite being aware of the risk that they could be used to commit serious violations in Gaza. The Central American state also accused Berlin of failing to prevent genocide and of contributing to the humanitarian crisis by suspending funding to Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

"This has the potential to be an important case because it provides an opportunity for the ICJ to clarify the law with respect to the duty to prevent genocide and the obligation to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law," ICJ expert Mike Becker told Middle East Eye. "The ICJ could decide that none, or only some, of Nicaragua’s claims can proceed to the merits," Becker, who is a professor of law at Trinity College Dublin, t…