ICJ ruling met with Israeli contempt

United Nations

Sphinx News: Ahmed Ali

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/shorts/braFZT0x0-8?si=tatd2NjKO0D2uNyK

New York City, NY — The International Court of Justice ruled in an advisory opinion that the State of Israel is obliged to ensure the “basic needs of the Gaza population,” citing that the administration must support relevant UN institutions.

As part of its findings, the ICJ also ruled that Israel failed to substantiate its claims that UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine) worked for Hamas, the Palestinian group responsible for the attacks of October 7th.

In January 2024, just three months after the Hamas attacks of October 7th, 2023, Israeli officials accused UNRWA of complicity by employing 13 members with ties to Hamas. Israeli officials alleged that this complicity allowed Hamas to misuse UNRWA facilities in various capacities, enabling the militant group to carry out operations including the kidnapping of hostages.

The bold assertions made by Israeli officials were presented in January 2024 to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew and Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues Ambassador David Satterfield. The allegations claimed that, of the 1,300 UNRWA employees in Gaza, 13 were directly associated with the October 7th attacks. The Israeli document presented to U.S. officials added that of those 13, ten were Hamas operatives, two were members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and one was unidentified. Israeli authorities asserted that six UNRWA employees infiltrated Israel as part of the attack, four participated in the kidnapping of Israelis, and three were invited via SMS to an assembly area the night before the attack and instructed to arm themselves.

At the time of the allegations in January 2024, the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, stated that the UN had not received the intelligence shared with news outlets and would be conducting its own internal investigation. In August 2024, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, released a statement acknowledging the completion of that investigation. Overseen by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the findings concluded the following:

“In one case, no evidence was obtained by OIOS to support the allegations of the staff member’s involvement. That staff member has rejoined the Agency.

In nine other cases, the evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient to support the staff members’ involvement, and the OIOS investigation of them is now closed.

For the remaining nine cases, the evidence — if authenticated and corroborated — could indicate that the UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the attacks of 7 October.

I have decided that in the case of these remaining nine staff members, they cannot work for UNRWA. All contracts of these staff members will be terminated in the interest of the Agency.”

Despite the independent investigation overruling Israel’s claim of a substantive body of UNRWA employees complicit in the October 7th attacks, the Israeli administration has since not allowed the agency to conduct operations in the besieged enclave. With the ICJ’s new advisory ruling, President Yuji Iwasawa stated, “The Court finds that Israel has not substantiated its allegations that a significant part of UNRWA’s employees are members of Hamas or other terrorist factions.”

Accordingly, the Court added that Israel must not only fulfill its obligation to provide for the “basic needs” of the population within Gaza, but also assist relevant UN institutions in their humanitarian operations — including reinstating UNRWA’s activities.

In his statement today, UN Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the ICJ’s decision as “decisive,” calling on Israeli authorities to respect and uphold their legal obligations.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry, however, rejected the ruling, stating that it “categorically rejects” the ICJ’s advisory opinion requiring cooperation with the UNRWA aid agency. The ministry added, “This is yet another political attempt to impose measures against Israel under the guise of international law.”

“Hamas terror activity within UNRWA took place before the October 7 massacre, during the massacre, and after the massacre,” the ministry asserted.

Commenting on the Israeli administration’s response, Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, stated, “We have refuted this bold allegation numerous times over the last two years.” He added that while certain questions regarding individual staff members had been raised, “we did in fact take action and let go of those staff.” He emphasized that the organization as a whole has been “vital for keeping tens of thousands of people alive over the last two years.”