The U.N.’s top court will issue an interim ruling in a case involving Germany’s weapons sales to Israel. (2024)

The U.N.’s top court will issue an interim ruling in a case involving Germany’s weapons sales to Israel.

The court’s response could answer larger questions involving Israel’s allies in Europe and the United States, including whether suppliers of arms can be found complicit, and even held liable, if the aid is used to enable grievous war crimes.

Appearing before the judges in early April, Nicaragua, a longstanding supporter of the Palestinian cause, told the court that Germany was not only failing in its obligations to help avoid genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, but was also facilitating crimes with its military assistance. Germany is a staunch ally of Israel and second only to the United States in providing it with arms.

Both Germany and Nicaragua are parties to the 1948 Genocide Convention, which binds them to act to prevent genocide, defined as the intent to destroy a group not only by killing or causing serious bodily or mental harm, but also by inflicting “conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

Israel has repeatedly denied accusations that it is committing genocide in Gaza, arguing that its military has worked to preserve civilian life and that Hamas has used civilians as human shields.

In January, the I.C.J. issued separate interim orders requested by South Africa, specifying that Israel must prevent its forces in Gaza from taking actions that are banned under the Genocide Convention, must prevent and punish public statements that constitute incitements to genocide, and must allow more access to humanitarian aid. The court is expected to take at least two years to rule on the question of whether Israel has committed genocide but found a “plausible” risk of genocide.

Germany has strongly rejected arguments that it has been violating international law with its military exports to Israel, saying the shipments are always licensed under German and European rules.

The scope of Nicaragua’s claims against Germany are broader than those in the South African case against Israel. Nicaragua argues that German arms supplies not only risk facilitating genocide, but also contribute to violations of the Geneva Conventions, which include the obligation to protect civilians during military hostilities.

Unlike Germany, which has given the court full jurisdiction, the United States has shielded itself and on most issues has to consent to a case. It has protected itself even further from the Genocide Convention, signing the convention but exempting itself from any obligations, such as intervening to stop a genocide or paying reparations if it were found to be complicit.

Critics of the Nicaraguan government say that its pursuit of Germany for breaking international law is hypocritical: a recent U.N. report accused Nicaragua of “systematic human rights violations” and increasing repression of government opponents at home.

Blinken’s Mideast tour continues in Jordan, where he is due to discuss humanitarian aid for Gaza.

Mr. Blinken discussed the proposed deal at meetings in Saudi Arabia on Monday. He plans to do the same in Jordan on Tuesday and in Israel on Wednesday, according to State Department officials.

On his seventh trip to the Middle East since the war began last October, Mr. Blinken and his aides have been trying to work on a range of issues, including Israel’s continuing need for U.S. weapons, the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza and a plan for a political solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Mr. Blinken will make humanitarian aid for Gaza a focus of his visit in Jordan and later in Israel. He plans to meet with officials involved in aid efforts while in Jordan, according to a State Department official who discussed elements of the trip with reporters traveling on the plane with Mr. Blinken. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the details were not disclosed in the official trip statement issued by the State Department.

In talks with Jordanian officials, Mr. Blinken is also expected to address issues around the leadership of the Palestinian Authority, which governs the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Biden administration has called for a more technocratic Palestinian Authority, which is considered by many Palestinians to be authoritarian and corrupt, in the hopes that it could help govern postwar Gaza — an idea that Israel’s government opposes. Jordanian officials have close ties with Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the authority, and other prominent Palestinians in the organization.

— Edward Wong traveling with the U.S. secretary of state in the Middle East

Biden speaks to the leaders of Egypt and Qatar to press for Hamas’s agreement on a new cease-fire.

Mr. Biden also spoke on Monday with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar. According to the White House, Mr. Biden urged the Qatari leader “to exert all efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas,” saying that “this is now the only obstacle” to an immediate cease-fire.

Mr. al-Sisi and Mr. al-Thani have been prime intermediaries with Hamas through months of fitful negotiations to reach a deal to halt the hostilities, and Mr. Biden hopes they will prod the group’s leader, Yahya Sinwar, to accept the U.S.-brokered proposal on the table. On Sunday, Mr. Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, expressed a hopeful view of the prospects for an agreement. “In recent days, there has been progress in talks,” she told reporters at the White House.

Like other American officials, Ms. Jean-Pierre said that Hamas, not Israel, was the obstacle to an agreement.

“The onus is indeed on Hamas,” she said. “There is a deal on the table, and they need to take it.”