ICJ begins hearings on Israel's humanitarian aid obligations

The UN’s highest court has begun a week of hearings into Israel’s obligation to “ensure and facilitate” humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories and particularly in Gaza.

The hearings come in response to a resolution passed last year by the UN General Assembly asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to weigh in on Israel’s legal responsibilities after the country blocked UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, from operating on its territory.

The hearings opened as as the humanitarian aid system in Gaza is nearing collapse. The UN legal team was the first to address the court on Monday, followed by Palestinian representatives.

The World Food Programme said last week its food stocks in Gaza have run out, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

Israel, which denies deliberately targeting civilians and aid staff as part of its war with Hamas, has blocked the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies since 2 March, and renewed its military campaign on 18 March, saying it aims to push Hamas to release more hostages.

Israel not present in The Hague

The Palestinian Ambassador to the Netherlands Ammar Hijazi told the ICJ in The Hague that “Israel is starving, killing and displacing Palestinians while also targeting and blocking humanitarian organisations trying to save their lives”, accusing it of breaching international law.

No Israeli representatives attended the hearing, which Foreign Minister Gideon Saar decried as part of a “systematic persecution and delegitimisation” of his country.

“It is abusing the international legal system and politicising it,” he added.

Israel’s ban on UNRWA, which came into effect in January, stems from claims that the group has been infiltrated by Hamas. Israel presented its case against UNRWA on Monday, accusing it of failing to act before the war against evidence that Hamas had used its facilities.

Amir Weissbrod, a Foreign Ministry official, said UNRWA employed 1,400 Palestinians with militant ties, adding that some of those employees also took part in Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks. UNRWA said it fired nine staffers after an internal UN investigation.

In total, 40 states and four international organisations are scheduled to participate in the ICJ case. The US, which voted against the UN resolution, is scheduled to speak on Wednesday.

The court will likely take months to rule. But experts say that while any decision will not be legally binding, the outcome could profoundly impact international jurisprudence, international aid to Israel and public opinion.

Whether any ruling will have an effect on Israel is another matter. The Israeli government has long accused the UN of being unfairly biased against it and has ignored a 2004 advisory ruling by the ICJ that found its West Bank separation barrier illegal.

It also ignored last year’s advisory ruling calling Israel to stop settlement activity in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling it a “decision of lies”.