At World Court hearing, US backs Israel’s right to ban UNRWA from Gaza
Legal adviser to administration argues international law gives Israel the right to decide which organizations run relief operations in Strip
AMSTERDAM — Israel cannot be forced to allow the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, to operate in Gaza, the United States argued Wednesday at an International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearing in The Hague.
Israel last year passed a law that banned UNRWA from operating in the country, as it said the organization had employed members of Hamas who took part in the October 7, 2023, onslaught, among a series of other accusations including that the organization runs schools that incite to terrorism and perpetuates Palestinians’ refugee status by passing it by generation unlike the rest of the world’s refugees.
The ban officially came into effect in late January, prohibiting the agency from operating on Israeli soil and forbidding contact between it and Israeli officials.
Despite the ban, The Times of Israel reported in early April that, according to Palestinian sources and UNRWA itself, the agency was still operating in East Jerusalem almost entirely uninterrupted. Additionally, the legislation was seen as having had little effect on UNRWA operations in other areas where Israeli cooperation was required.
The UN said in August 2024 that nine UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the devastating Hamas assault and had been fired. Another Hamas commander, confirmed by UNRWA as one of its employees, was killed in Gaza last October, according to Israel.
The UN General Assembly in December 2024 asked the agency’s top court to give an advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations to facilitate aid to Palestinians that is delivered by states and international groups, including the UN.
The ICJ, also known as the World Court, on Monday opened a week of hearings on Israel’s humanitarian obligations toward the Palestinians, more than 50 days into its blockade on aid entering war-ravaged Gaza, which is aimed at pressuring Hamas to release the 59 hostages it is holding, 24 of whom are believed alive.
On the third day of hearings on the matter, the US said Israel had the right to determine which organizations could provide basic needs to the population of Gaza and the West Bank.
“An occupational power retains a margin of appreciation concerning which relief schemes to permit,” US State Department legal adviser Joshua Simmons said.
“Even if an organization offering relief is an impartial humanitarian organization, and even if it is a major actor, occupation law does not compel an occupational power to allow and facilitate that specific actor’s relief operations.”
Simmons also stressed the “serious concerns” Israel has about UNRWA’s impartiality.
UN and Palestinian representatives at the opening of hearings on Monday had accused Israel of breaking international law by refusing to let aid into Gaza.
Since March 2, Israel has completely cut off all supplies to the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip, and food stockpiled during a ceasefire at the start of the year has all but run out.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in Jerusalem on Monday that Israel had submitted its position in writing to the hearings, which he described as a “circus.”
Israel was absent from the hearing, which included scheduled participation from 40 countries and four international organizations.
The court will likely take months to rule. Experts say the decision, though not legally binding, could profoundly impact international jurisprudence and public opinion.
The Times of Israel Community.