Despite numerous international warnings and extensive documentation of the most serious crimes in Gaza, Germany continued to export arms to Israel on a continuous basis from 2023 to 2026. This is shown in an ECCHR report published today, which coincides with the start of the new round of hearings in the Nicaragua v. Germany case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. This phase of the proceedings concerns Germany’s objections to the court’s jurisdiction and the admissibility of the case.
The report, “Arming International Crimes – Germany’s Continuing Arms Exports to Israel, 2023–2026,” analyzes official licensing figures, parliamentary information and Israeli import data.
“In 2024, Germany defended itself before the ICJ by citing a ‘robust’ arms control system and a decline in licenses. The subsequent export record undermines this defense. The German government cannot invoke the theoretical protective effect of the law in The Hague while effectively rendering it meaningless in its licensing practices,” explains Dr. Alexander Schwarz, Co-Director of the International Crimes and Accountability program at ECCHR.
The analysis shows that following the 2024 ICJ proceedings, German arms export licenses have increased – and overwhelmingly do not pertain to the protective or training equipment that Germany had cited in court. In 2024, protective equipment accounted for only 106,000 euros out of a total of 163.8 million euros – about 0.065 percent. For 2025, the report documents licenses for tank and armored vehicle parts worth over 110 million euros. Components of this type were used in Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon that violated international law.
The contradiction becomes particularly clear in April 2024: at that time, the German government cited before the ICJ strict case-by-case reviews, a sharp decline in the value of approved exports, and a low proportion of weapons of war as strictly defined by the War Weapons Control Act. The ICJ subsequently did not order any provisional measures against Germany under the circumstances at that time. However, this did not amount to a general endorsement of German arms exports. On the contrary, the ICJ expressly referred to the obligations of arms-supplying states to prevent risks of violations of the Genocide Convention and the Geneva Conventions.
According to ECCHR, this licensing practice violates international, European and German arms export laws. The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and the EU’s Common Position on Arms Exports (2008/944/CFSP) require that licenses be denied whenever there is a clear risk that the goods will contribute to serious violations of international humanitarian law. Furthermore, the Genocide Convention obligates states to take action as soon as they are aware or ought to be aware of a serious risk of genocide – a definitive genocide ruling is not required for this:
ECCHR calls on the German government to halt arms exports to Israel to the extent that the goods could contribute to the commission or facilitation of international crimes – as is currently the case in Gaza and Lebanon. New licenses must be denied, existing licenses reviewed and, where legally required, revoked. Since 2024, ECCHR has been supporting legal actions by Palestinians against German arms exports to Israel.
