The International Court of Justice said on Wednesday that Israel must allow the UN aid agency in Gaza, known as UNRWA, to provide humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian territory.
The Hague-based court was asked late last year by the UN General Assembly to determine Israel’s legal obligations after the country passed laws effectively banning the agency, the main provider of aid to Gaza, from operating there.
Israel “is under the obligation to agree to and facilitate relief schemes provided by the United Nations and its entities, including UNRWA”, ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa said.
Aid trucks arriving in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, last week.Credit: AP
Israel has not allowed UNRWA to bring in its supplies since March. But the agency continues to operate in Gaza, running health centres, mobile medical teams, sanitation services and school classes for children. It says it has 6000 trucks of supplies waiting to get in.
The advisory opinion from the World Court comes as a fragile US-brokered Gaza ceasefire agreement, which took effect on October 10, continues to hold.
Israel has denied it has violated international law, saying the court’s proceedings were biased. In a written statement, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the opinion and said Israel “fully upholds its obligations under International Law”.
It added, in a reference to UNRWA, that Israel “will not cooperate with an organisation that is infested with terror activities”.
AP
