Despite mounting public outcry, Berlin’s stance remained supportive of Israel’s military activities, citing a sense of historical responsibility.
A coalition of lawyers filed on Friday a lawsuit against the German government, calling for an immediate cessation of weapons and ammunition supply to Israel.
Ahmed Abed, representing Palestinian families, emphasized the urgency of their application, citing ongoing Israeli actions in Gaza which they deem as war crimes and indicative of potential genocide.
“Germany has a constitutional responsibility to protect human life. The German government must stop its arms exports to Israel, as they are in violation of international law. The government cannot claim that it is not aware of this,” Abed told a news conference in Berlin.
Despite mounting public outcry, Berlin’s stance remained supportive of Israel’s military activities, citing a sense of historical responsibility stemming from its Nazi past.
Today, on behalf of three Palestinians in Rafah, we – a Berlin-based collective of lawyers – filed an urgent legal application against the German government to halt the export of war weapons to Israel. This legal action was taken in collaboration w/ @ForensicArchi & @elsclegal pic.twitter.com/XVF2EkaGm9
— Armaghan Naghipour (@armaghipour) April 5, 2024
The Lawyers’ Collective argued that these exports contravene international and domestic laws, particularly the War Weapons Control Act.
“The criteria for the approval of arms exports include, among other things, that the weapons are not used against Germany’s obligations of the international law, in this case that Israel does not violate human rights and international humanitarian law,” the lawyers said in a statement.
“Since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its decision of January 26, 2024 already sees evidence of genocide in Gaza, the Lawyers’ Collective believes that the delivery of weapons is contrary to these obligations. The aim of the urgent motion is therefore to immediately stop future approvals of weapons deliveries to Israel, and to revoke approvals that have already been granted,” they said.
The legal endeavor, backed by Gazan families and German legal representatives, received support from civil society organizations such as the European Legal Support Center (ELSC), the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PID), and Law for Palestine, as part of the Justice and Accountability for Palestine Initiative.
War Weapons Control Act
According to the annual report published in March by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), 69 percent of Israel’s arms acquisitions in 2023 are sourced from US firms, with 30 percent coming from Germany, followed by Italy, with 0.9 percent.
In 2023, the German government sanctioned €326.5 million ($354 million) worth of arms exports to Israel, a substantial increase compared to previous years, with a significant portion approved post-October 7, 2023.
These are the Two Countries that Provide Israel with 99 Percent of Its Weapons – Report
The Lawyers’ Collective argues that these exports contravene international and domestic laws, particularly the War Weapons Control Act.
Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted on Friday a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip.
The strongly worded text also called on countries to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms to Israel, amid “plausible risk of genocide”.
Twenty-eight countries, including China, Chile, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, voted in favor of the resolution.
13 abstained, including France, India, and Japan.
Six countries, including Germany and the United States, voted against the resolution.
Gaza Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 33,091 Palestinians have been killed, and 75,750 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’
(PC, Anadolu)
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