The man who is suing the German government has never been to Germany. Abdalrahman Jumaa, 32, lives several thousand kilometers away in the Gaza Strip and tells his story, which he believes has something to do with Germany, over the phone. It begins late in the evening of February 20 in Rafah. He was playing with his 14-month-old daughter Kenzi and had just left the house when it was bombed.

He heard the explosion, ran back and saw nothing but rubble. A neighbor found Kenzi, dead, and Jumaa would later discover the body of his wife Nour in a hospital, her face disfigured. He was only able to recognize her by the clothes she had been wearing. Her parents and four of her siblings also perished that day. Almost an entire family, simply wiped out.

"My wife had fled to her father's house because she thought it was safe there," says Jumaa. But, he says, there is no place in Gaza right now that is a safe space. He adds that he, too, could be killed at any time. And that Germany is also to blame for this. "Germany is an important partner of Israel in this war, as is the U.S.A." He's referring to political support, but also to arms deliveries. "I hope your country will stop exports to end this bloodbath," he says.

Taking the Case to a Berlin Court

To make that happen, Jumaa, together with four other Palestinians from Gaza, is now taking legal action against the German government – or more precisely, against Economics Minister Robert Habeck. His ministry is also responsible for reviewing and approving exports that fall under the War Weapons Control Act. The group filed the complaint with the Berlin Administrative Court last week.

They are represented by the lawyer Remo Klinger, who is being provided with support from lawyers at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) in Berlin and the Palestinian human rights organizations PCHR, Al-Haq and Al Mezan.

Jumaa's wife Nour worked as a lawyer for PCHR, an organization based in Gaza that has repeatedly tried to bring possible war crimes committed by the Israeli army to court in the past. With her death, the lawyer herself has become the subject of a similar lawsuit.

"There is reason to believe that the defendant (Ed's note: the German federal government) is violating its obligations under international law under the Genocide Convention by issuing licenses," the lawsuit states. "The weapons of war in question are being used by the Israeli armed forces in Gaza." It states that the lives of Jumaa and the other plaintiffs are also threatened.

So, is Germany contributing to the war in the Gaza Strip, is it jointly responsible for war crimes that may have been committed, even for genocide?

The Dilemma of Germany's "Reason of State"

That is the central question that is currently occupying German and international courts. Packaged in printed matter, files and legalese, the language of the case is often also about Germany's political support for Israel: the paradigm of Israel's security as part of the German reason of state .

Five days after the October 7 massacre, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz read out his government's statement in the federal parliament, the Bundestag: "There is only one place for Germany at this time, and that is by Israel's side," Scholz said. Fighters with Hamas and other terrorist groups had just murdered around 1,140 people, kidnapped 250 and raped or seriously injured many more. Israel plunged into a state of shock.

The chancellor added: "Our solidarity does not stop just at words." The chancellor said Germany would "examine without delay and also grant other requests for support from Israel."

Germany also backed those words of support with action, with Berlin approving Israeli requests for arms exports at a record pace. Berlin issued around 300 licenses in 2023 valuing 326.5 million euros, around 10 times more than in the previous year. The government issued 185 licenses within the first four weeks after October 7 alone. However, 98 percent of these did not fall into the category of particularly sensitive "war weapons," but were "other military equipment," that can include things like protective equipment and radar technology, as well as military trucks, explosives and spare parts for tanks.

Israel's Second Largest Arms Supplier after the U.S.

Last year, Germany became Israel's second-largest arms supplier after the United States. According to the Stockholm-based peace research institute SIPRI, around 53 percent of the weapons imported by Israel came from the U.S., around 47 percent from Germany (and 0.6 percent from Italy).

That unconditional solidarity initially seemed to many to be the right move. But since the number of civilians killed, including many women and children, has extended into the tens of thousands, the German government has become increasingly isolated with its position.

Nicaragua, itself far removed from the rule of law, has brought a case against Germany before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague for aiding and abetting genocide. The suit is in response to the arms exports, but also because of the suspended payments to the Palestinian relief organization UNRWA . The first hearings in the case took place last week. Criminal charges and administrative court actions against arms exports have also been filed.

Plaintiffs Demand Halt to Delivery of Anti-Tank Weapons

A criminal complaint has been filed against the nine members of the Federal Security Council, the German government body that approves sensitive exports. The week before last, a group led by lawyer Ahmed Abed filed an urgent petition with the Berlin Administrative Court to stop German arms exports to Israel.

The lawyers at ECCHR are adopting a similar approach. Their main aim is the revocation of the export license for 3,000 anti-tank weapons to Israel that had been issued after the October 7, 2023 attacks.

They are making their case based on the War Weapons Control Act, which stipulates that a license must be denied if the delivery of the war weapons in question would violate Germany's obligations under international law.

Since 2019, the German government has kept secret which weapons of war and other military equipment have been delivered by manufacturers. It is thus not known whether the anti-tank weapons have possibly already been delivered and deployed in Gaza. "But we are of the opinion that it is obvious that German weapons are or could be used there," says Wolfgang Kaleck, secretary general of ECCHR.

According to the research collective Forensis, Germany exported war weapons worth a total of 1.2 billion euros between 2003 and 2018. Presumably, some of those weapons are being used in the current war. ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems has delivered four corvettes to Israel, the last of which was put into service in December. Many Israeli attacks are carried out from warships. German companies have also supplied tank engines and military trucks.

At the beginning of April, the German government still refused to consider an export ban, instead pointing out that decisions would be made "on a case-by-case basis and in light of the specific situation." In other countries, however, either courts or governments have already taken action.

The Netherlands Cuts Supplies

In the Netherlands, three NGOs have sued for an export ban on components used in Israeli F-35 fighter jets. The regional government of Wallonia has revoked two export licenses for Belgian ammunition to Israel. Spain, Italy and Canada have suspended deliveries due to concerns under international law. A lawsuit has also been filed in the United States by Palestinian organizations supported by the Center for Constitutional Rights. And following the Israeli attack on aid workers from the organization World Central Kitchen in the Gaza Strip on April 1, which resulted in the deaths of three British nationals, the debate has also flared up in the United Kingdom. More than 600 lawyers and judges there have signed an open letter calling for an export ban.

Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Council called for an embargo at the beginning of April. Out of 47 states represented on the council, only six voted against it, including the U.S. – and Germany.

Since Nicaragua filed a lawsuit against Germany with the International Court of Justice on March 1, the debate has also gained momentum here in Germany. In its urgent petition, the country, which is ruled by a dictatorship, is claiming that German arms exports violate the Genocide Convention. This is the only reason that The Hague has jurisdiction at all. Above all, however, the point is likely to be the denunciation of Israel's conduct in the war in the eyes of the world and to pillory one of its closest supporters.

Germany Is Largest Financial Supporter of the Palestinians

The tone was set at a hearing on April 8 by a representative of Nicaragua, who stated that nobody – meaning Germany, of course – had a right to the "genocide brand." German legal representative Tania von Uslar-Gleichen countered this the next day in the wood-paneled hall of the world court. "Our history is the reason why Israel's security is at the heart of German foreign policy," she told the court.

Germany adheres strictly to international law, says the head of the legal department of the German Foreign Ministry. She added that the review of the licenses for arms exports "far" exceeded the requirements. "No stone has been left unturned" in efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, she said.

In their arguments, the lawyers representing Germany issued a sobering barrage of figures that refuted some of Nicaragua's accusations. They show that Germany was the largest donor of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territories in 2023 and also in the first months of 2024. And they stated that the number of export licenses for arms deliveries to Israel has fallen drastically since November. They essentially said that Germany has nothing to reproach itself for.

The accusations have "neither a factual nor a legal basis," von Uslar-Gleichen said in her closing statement, calling for the case brought by Nicaragua to be dismissed.

International law expert Stefan Talmon believes it is likely that the ICJ will also move in favor of Germany, if only because there are too many procedural hurdles. The most significant being that the existence of genocide must actually first be established by the court before it can rule against a country accused of being an accessory to genocide. So far, however, in the proceedings brought by South Africa, the court has only found that there is a risk of a violation of rights under the Genocide Convention. A final verdict isn't expected to be reached for several years from now.

"Nicaragua would also have to provide plausible evidence that Germany is actually contributing to an alleged genocide by approving certain arms exports," Talmon says. But that is extremely difficult.

Lawyer for Nicaragua Speaks of "Pathetic Excuse"

Legally, Germany is probably on the safe side, but one sentence from Nicaragua's lawyer, a German ironically, is likely to stick in the public mind: it is a "pathetic excuse" to drop food from the air and furnish weapons at the same time.

One day later, Nicaragua demonstratively closed its embassy in Berlin.

So, do proceedings like these largely serve as a stage for critics of Israel to produce headlines through legal stunts?