A Palestinian flag flies outside the International Court of Justice, rear, which opened hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday.
A Palestinian flag flies outside the International Court of Justice, rear, which opened hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) 鈥 The United States told the International Court of Justice Wednesday that Israel must provide aid to Gaza, but the country does not have to work with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.
The top court of the United Nations is on what Israel must do to provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, following a request for an advisory opinion from the U.N. General Assembly last year.
The U.S. said Israel had legitimate concerns about the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, also known as UNRWA, the largest provider of aid in the beleaguered Gaza Strip.
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鈥淚n sum, there is no legal requirement that an occupying power permit a specific third state or international organization to conduct activity in occupied territory that would compromise its security interests,鈥 Josh Simmons, a legal advisor from the State Department, told The Hague-based court.
Simmons suggested other organizations could fulfill UNRWA鈥檚 mission.
In January, Israel banned the agency from operating on its territory. in Gaza took part in Hamas鈥 attack in southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and set off the war in Gaza.
UNRWA said it fired nine staffers after an internal U.N. investigation concluded that they could have been involved, although the evidence was not authenticated or corroborated. Israel later alleged that about 100 other Palestinians in Gaza were Hamas members, but never provided any evidence to the United Nations.
On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar hit back at the case. 鈥淚 accuse UNRWA, I accuse the U.N., I accuse the secretary-general and I accuse all those that weaponized international law and its institutions in order to deprive the most attacked country in the world, Israel, of its most basic right to defend itself,鈥 he told a news conference in Jerusalem.
Israel is not participating in the hearings, but it did submit written arguments.
The Russian Federation, which spoke directly after the United States, said that UNRWA鈥檚 work was crucial for the Palestinian people and the agency was supported by the majority of the international community. 鈥淭he urgency of this matter cannot be overstated. Gaza balances on the brink of famine. Hospitals lie in the ruins. Millions of Palestinians in the (Gaza) strip, as well as in the West Bank and East Jerusalem face existential despair,鈥 Maksim Musikhin, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the court鈥檚 15 judges.
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Musikhin then suggested UNRWA deserved a Nobel Peace Prize for its work.
and ceasefire efforts remain deadlocked. Israel has blocked the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other humanitarian supplies since March 2. It renewed its bombardment on March 18, breaking a ceasefire, and seized large parts of the territory, saying it aims to push Hamas to release more hostages.
The said last week its food stocks have run out, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Many families are .
On Monday, the Israel of breaching international law in the occupied territories.
鈥淚srael is starving, killing and displacing Palestinians while also targeting and blocking humanitarian organizations trying to save their lives,鈥 he told the court.
