NICARAGUA demanded today that the UN’s top court take action to halt German military aid to Israel, arguing that Berlin’s support enables acts of genocide and breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza.

The case against Germany, at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, also indirectly takes aim at Israel’s six-month-old military campaign, which has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and devastated Gaza.

Nicaragua’s allegations represent the latest legal attempt by a country with historic ties to the Palestinian people to stop Israel’s offensive, after South Africa accused Israel of genocide at the court late last year. 

Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Netherlands Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez told the 16-judge panel that “Germany is failing to honour its own obligation to prevent genocide or to ensure respect of international humanitarian law.”

Nicaragua has asked the court to order Germany to immediately suspend its aid to Israel.

Germany will present its arguments on Tuesday. 

Israel strongly denies that its assault amounts to genocidal acts, saying it is acting in self-defence after October 7’s Hamas attack, during which 1,200 people were killed. 

Since then, more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, around two-thirds of them women and children.

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

Dozens of flag-waving Palestine solidarity protesters demonstrated outside the court.

Sliman Abu Amara, a Dutch citizen of Palestinian descent, said he was grateful to Nicaragua for taking Germany to court, noting “the irony is that Germany is actually behind the whole international convention on preventing genocide.”

On Friday, the UN’s top human rights body called on countries to stop selling or shipping weapons to Israel. 

The United States and Germany opposed the resolution.