The German government has strongly rejected the allegations before the United Nations Supreme Court that Israel is committing "genocide" in Gaza and warned against the "political exploitation" of this accusation.

According to the "Times of Israel" newspaper, government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement that Israel was "defending itself" after the "inhumane" attacks launched by Hamas on October 7.

He added that Germany will intervene as a third party before the International Court of Justice under a provision that allows states to seek clarifications regarding the use of a multilateral convention.

This step allows Germany to present its case to the court that Israel has not violated the Genocide Convention and has neither committed nor intended to commit the crime of genocide.

Germany does not claim to be legally affected by the South African case, and therefore it does not need the permission of the International Court of Justice to intervene as a third party.

As one of the countries that signed the 1948 Genocide Convention, it has the right to join the cases and present its arguments regarding the case.

Hebestreit mentioned that Germany "intends to intervene as a third party in the main hearing," indicating that Berlin will intervene in South Africa's main case against Israel, which the court may take years to decide whether Israel violated the Genocide Convention or not.

Accordingly, this step does not seem to affect this week's proceedings – the hearings in which South Africa requested a temporary court order from the court to force Israel to implement a ceasefire, and a decision on this more urgent matter is expected within one month.

In light of Germany's history and the crimes against humanity committed during the Holocaust, the German government is particularly committed to the Genocide Convention [adopted by the United Nations], which was signed in 1948 following the Holocaust, Hebestreit says.

He says the convention represents a "central instrument" under international law to prevent another Holocaust.

For this reason, he says: "We stand firmly against the political exploitation" of the convention.

Hebestreit acknowledges the differing views in the international community regarding the Israeli military operation against Hamas in Gaza.

He adds: "But the German government firmly and explicitly rejects the genocide accusations directed against Israel before the International Court of Justice," this accusation is unfounded.