March 2, 2024 (EIRNS)—As they had earlier stated they would do, the government of Nicaragua on March 1 filed a formal Application before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague against the Federal Republic of Germany “concerning violations to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and its Additional Protocols … in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the Gaza Strip.”
The document recounts the carnage underway in Gaza, as well as the forcible displacement of 1.7 million people, of whom “the majority are currently situated in Rafah governorate, which has become the largest refugee camp in the world.” In light of the massive international news coverage, as well as the ICJ’s own Order of Jan. 26, 2024, “Germany cannot deny knowledge of the serious illegality of the conduct of Israel, nor can it deny that its knowledge triggered obligations for Germany under international law to prevent genocide, to not aid and assist or be complicit in genocide, and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law and other peremptory norms of international law, such as not rendering aid or assistance and to prevent the illegal regime of apartheid and the negation of the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people.”
The Nicaragua Application continues: “Germany has provided political, financial, and military support to Israel with the knowledge at the time of authorization that the military equipment would be used in the commission of serious breaches of international law. The German Government has also cut off assistance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which is the primary agency in charge of delivering aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and the United Nations has confirmed that it cannot be replaced by any other agency at this time. Germany is perfectly aware of the deadly impact that its decision to cut funding to UNRWA means in practical terms, which amounts to the collective punishment of millions of Palestinians, in particular Gazans as they will be condemned to famine, starvation and disease if UNRWA halts its operations.