Top UN court will hold hearings in a case accusing Germany of facilitating Israel’s Gaza conflict

[Pelican Press 0]

Top UN court will hold hearings in a case accusing Germany of facilitating *******’s Gaza conflict

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Preliminary hearings open Monday at the ******* Nations’ top court in a case that seeks an end of ******* military and other aid to *******, based on claims that Berlin is “facilitating” acts of genocide and breaches of international law

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******* strongly denies its military campaign amounts to breaches of the Genocide Convention.

While the case brought by Nicaragua centers on Germany, it indirectly takes aim at *******’s military campaign in Gaza following the deadly Oct. 7 attacks when ******-led militants stormed into southern *******, ******** some 1,200 people. More than 33,000 Palestinians have been ******* in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. Its toll doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, but it has said women and children make up the majority of the *****.

“We are calm and we will set out our legal position in court,” ******* Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sebastian Fischer said ahead of the hearings.

“We ******* Nicaragua’s accusations,” Fischer told reporters in Berlin on Friday. “Germany has breached neither the genocide convention nor international humanitarian law, and we will set this out in detail before the International Court of Justice.”

Nicaragua has asked the court to hand down preliminary orders known as provisional measures, including that Germany “immediately suspend its aid to *******, in particular its military assistance including military equipment in so far as this aid may be used in the violation of the Genocide Convention” and international law.

The court will likely take weeks to deliver its preliminary decision and Nicaragua’s case will likely drag on for years.

Monday’s hearing at the world court comes amid growing calls for allies to stop supplying arms to ******* as its

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continues to lay waste to Gaza.

The offensive has displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s population. Food is scarce, the U.N. says

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and few Palestinians have been able to leave the besieged territory.

“The case next week in The Hague will likely further galvanize opposition to any support for *******,” said Mary Ellen O’Connell, a professor of law and international peace studies at the University of Notre Dame.

On Friday, the U.N.’s top human rights body called on countries to

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The ******* States and Germany opposed the resolution.

Also, hundreds of British jurists, including three retired Supreme Court judges, have called on their government to

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after three U.K. citizens were among seven aid workers from the charity World Central Kitchen ******* in

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. ******* said the ******* on the aid workers was a mistake caused by “misidentification.”

Germany has for decades been a

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. Days after the Oct. 7 ******* by ******, Chancellor Olaf Scholz explained why: “Our own history, our responsibility arising from the Holocaust, makes it a perpetual task for us to stand up for the security of the state of *******,” he told lawmakers.

Berlin, however, has gradually shifted its tone as civilian casualties in Gaza have soared, becoming increasingly critical of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and spoken out against a ground offensive in Rafah.

Nicaragua’s government, which has historical links with ************ organizations dating back to their support for the 1979 Sandinista revolution, was itself accused earlier this year by U.N.-backed human rights experts of

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“tantamount to ******* against humanity.” The government of President Daniel Ortega fiercely rejected the allegations.

In January, the ICJ imposed

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ordering ******* to do all it can to prevent ******, destruction and acts of genocide in Gaza. The orders came in a case filed by South ******* accusing ******* of breaching the Genocide Convention.

The court last week ordered ******* to take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including opening more land crossings to allow food, water, fuel and other supplies into the war-ravaged enclave.

On Friday, ******* said it’s taking steps to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, including reopening a key border crossing into northern Gaza.

Nicaragua argues that by giving ******* political, financial and military support and by defunding the ******* Nations aid agency for Palestinians, UNWRA, “Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide and, in any case has ******* in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide.”

*******

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that its ******** amounts to genocidal acts, saying it is acting in self defense. ******** legal advisor Tal Becker told judges at the court in January that the country is fighting a “war it did not start and did not want.”

___

Associated Press writer Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

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*******,Genocide Convention,Nicaragua,Germany,the ******* Nations,southern *******,Sebastian Fischer,war in Gaza,Gaza,Preliminary hearings,provisional measures
#Top #court #hold #hearings #case #accusing #Germany #facilitating #Israels #Gaza #conflict

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