UN chief warns he could refer Israel to world court over action against UN Palestinian refugee agency

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 13 (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned Israel in a letter that he could refer the country to the International Court of Justice if it does not repeal laws targeting U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA and return seized assets and property.

In a January 8 letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Guterres said the United Nations cannot remain indifferent to “actions taken by Israel, which are in direct contravention of the obligations of Israel under international law. They must be reversed without delay.”

Israel’s parliament passed a law in October 2024 banning the agency from operating in the country and prohibiting officials from having contact with the agency. It then amended that law last month to ban electricity or water to UNRWA facilities.

Israeli authorities also seized UNRWA’s East Jerusalem offices last month. The U.N. considers East Jerusalem occupied by Israel. Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be part of the country.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon on Tuesday dismissed Guterres’ letter to Netanyahu. 

“We are not fazed by the Secretary-General’s threats,” Danon said. “Instead of dealing with the undeniable involvement of UNRWA personnel in terrorism, the Secretary-General chooses to threaten Israel. This is not defending international law, this is defending an organization marred by terrorism.”

UNRWA AND GAZA 

Israel has long been critical of UNRWA, which was created by the General Assembly in 1949 following the war surrounding the founding of Israel. It provides aid, health and education to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

The United Nations has said that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and were fired. A Hamas commander in Lebanon – killed in September by Israel – was also found to have had a UNRWA job.

The U.N. has vowed to investigate all accusations made and has repeatedly asked Israel for evidence, which it says has not been provided.

The Hamas attack in 2023 triggered the war between Israel and the Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Top U.N. officials and the U.N. Security Council have described UNRWA as the backbone of the aid response in Gaza, where the two-year war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe.

The United Nations’ top legal body, the International Court of Justice, in October gave an advisory opinion saying Israel is under the obligation to ensure the basic needs of the civilian population in Gaza are met. 

The ICJ opinion was requested by the 193-member U.N. General Assembly. Advisory opinions of the ICJ, also known as the World Court, carry legal and political weight, but they are not binding and the court has no enforcement power.

(Reporting by Michelle NicholsEditing by Bill Berkrot)