Namibia has denounced Germany for backing Israel's stance at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where it is accused of genocide against Palestinians in the blockaded Gaza Strip. The Namibian presidency issued a statement on Saturday, expressing its dismay at the "shocking decision" made by Germany three days earlier when it dismissed the moral case brought by South Africa before the ICJ against Israel. Germany said it would intervene as a third party at the ICJ to support Israel in the genocide case lodged against it. Namibia recalled what it called "the first genocide of the 20th century", which was perpetrated by Germany on Namibian land between 1904 and 1908, in which "tens of thousands of innocent Namibians died in the most inhumane and brutal conditions" as per the statement. Windhoek also said that the German government has not yet fully compensated for the genocide it committed on Namibian land. The African country criticized Berlin for disregarding the violent deaths of more than 23,000 Palestinians in Gaza. It also overlooked various United Nations reports that underscore the internal displacement of about 85% of civilians in Gaza amid a severe lack of food and basic services. Furthermore, the Namibian presidency repeated President Hage Geingob's appeal made at the end of last month, saying that "no peace-loving person can turn a blind eye to the massacre committed against the Palestinians in Gaza." Geingob urged the German government to rethink its unsuitable decision to intervene as a third party to defend and support the acts of genocide committed by Israel at the ICJ. The ICJ in The Hague held hearings to examine the case filed by South Africa regarding the Israeli military assault on the Gaza Strip. In the case, Israel was charged with committing genocide crimes in violation of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention of Genocide, which South Africa and Israel had signed.
