About 600 German civil servants have written to Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other senior ministers calling on the government to “cease arm deliveries to the Israeli government with immediate effect”.

 

Iran Press/ Europe: The civil servants sent the statement via email to ministries last week, with the disclaimer that “due to the sensitive content and the excessive state repression that criticism in this area is met with, we want to remain anonymous”.

In 2023, Germany approved arms exports to Israel worth 326.5 million euros ($354m), a tenfold increase compared with the previous year. Researchers also found that 99 percent of Israel’s arms come from the United States and Germany, with the latter being the second-biggest supplier.

The letter comes as Germany is set to face the International Court of Justice (ICJ) today in a case brought by Nicaragua over Germany’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.

Additionally, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to begin two days of public hearings in a case brought by Nicaragua over Germany’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.

Nicaragua, which will address the court in The Hague on Monday morning, is alleging Germany, which provides a reported 30 percent of the Israeli military’s weapons, is violating its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Germany will respond on Tuesday, with a Foreign Ministry spokesperson saying Berlin rejects Nicaragua’s accusations and has not breached either the Genocide Convention or international humanitarian law.

At least 33,175 Palestinians have been killed and 75,886 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7.

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