THE HAGUE: The top United Nations court will rule on Israel’s obligations towards agencies providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, as aid groups scramble to scale up assistance following a ceasefire.
Judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague have been asked for an “advisory opinion” laying out Israel’s duty to facilitate aid in Gaza.
The UN asked the ICJ to clarify Israel’s obligations, as an occupying power, towards UN and other bodies “including to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival” of Palestinians.
An ICJ opinion is not legally binding, but the court believes it carries “great legal weight and moral authority”.
ICJ judges heard a week of evidence in April from dozens of nations and organisations, much of which revolved around the status of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Israel did not take part in the hearings but Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described them as “part of a systematic persecution and delegitimisation of Israel”.
“It is not Israel that should be on trial. It is the UN and UNRWA,” he told reporters at the time.
Israel banned UNRWA from operating on Israeli soil after accusing some of its staff of taking part in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
