World Court to give opinion on Israel’s obligations to allow aid to Palestinians

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By Stephanie van den Berg

THE HAGUE (Reuters) -The United Nations’ top legal body, the International Court of Justice, will issue an advisory opinion on Wednesday on what Israel’s obligations are to U.N. and other aid organisations trying to work in Gaza and the West Bank. 

The opinion, which was requested by the U.N. General Assembly in December, will be closely watched as it could have effects beyond the Gaza conflict. It is expected to address the protections states must provide for U.N. staff worldwide.

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. 

In April this year lawyers for the United Nations and Palestinian representatives at the ICJ accused Israel of breaking international law by refusing to let aid into Gaza between March and May.  

Since then some humanitarian aid has been allowed in but U.N. officials say the relief is nowhere near what is needed to ease a humanitarian disaster. 

The 20-point ceasefire plan mediated by the U.S. earlier this month allows for 600 trucks of aid a day into Gaza. Israel has previously accused Hamas of stealing food delivered into the enclave, which it denies, and has said the aid restriction was to put pressure on the militant group.

Israel did not appear before the ICJ in hearings but did submit its legal position in writing. In April, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar dismissed the hearings as a “circus” and said the court was being politicized.

The request for an ICJ opinion was prompted by a 2023 Israeli law that banned U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA from operating in the country, as it said the organisation had employed members of Hamas who took part in the attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The U.N. said in August last year that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the Hamas assault and had been fired. Another Hamas commander, confirmed by UNRWA as one of its employees, was killed in Gaza in October 2024, according to Israel.

In an earlier 2024 advisory opinion, the ICJ  found that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal and should end immediately. The court also said that Israel had human rights obligations to the Palestinians because of its position as an occupying power.

The court will start reading its decision at 3 p.m. (1300 GMT).

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Sharon Singleton)