Human rights lawyers go to court to stop German arms deliveries to Israel

Human rights lawyers said on Friday they had filed an urgent appeal against Germany's government to stop exports of war weapons to Israel, citing reasons to believe they were being used in ways violating international humanitarian law in Gaza.

A Dutch court has ordered the Netherlands to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns they were being used for attacks on civilian targets in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands have been killed.

The Berlin case, brought by several organizations, including the European Legal Support Center (ELSC), Law for Palestine, and the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy, was filed in an administrative court on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza.

In a statement, the lawyers said the arms deliveries and support Germany has provided to Israel violated the country's obligations under the War Weapons Control Act.

They cited a January order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, which has been subjected to siege and invasion since Hamas' October 7 attack. Israel denies genocide allegations.

"Just the assumption that the weapons are used to commit acts that violate international law is sufficient to revoke arms experts under the Act," lawyer Ahmed Abed told a press conference on Friday in Berlin. He said he expected a ruling within two to three weeks.

Reuters