The United Nations Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a legal opinion saying that Israel, as the occupying power, has an obligation to cooperate with UN agencies to facilitate humanitarian assistance in Gaza, condemning the blockade it imposed on the Palestinian enclave earlier this year, CNN reported.
The International Court of Justice also said in an advisory opinion that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the United Nations’ main agency serving Palestinian refugees, had not violated impartiality. “An occupying force can never invoke security reasons to justify the complete suspension of all humanitarian operations in occupied territories,” Justice Yuji Iwasawa said while filing the opinion. “After considering the evidence, the court finds that the supply of local residents in the Gaza Strip is insufficient.”
The opinion was requested by the United Nations General Assembly in December after Israel passed a law banning UNRWA’s operations and drastically reducing its ability to deliver aid to Gaza.
The advisory opinion, which aims to address Israel’s obligations to the United Nations, aid agencies, and third countries in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, is non-binding but carries political weight and is expected to increase pressure on Israel to cooperate with the United Nations and other aid agencies.
Israel accuses UNRWA of having more than 1,000 staff members with ties to Hamas and of teaching hatred against Israel in schools. UNRWA has repeatedly denied the accusations, saying there is no basis for a “blanket description” of the entire organization as infiltrated by Hamas.