The Office of the Legal Adviser of the Department of State showed up this morning at The Hague at the public hearing of the International Court of Justice which was considering the request by the UN General Assembly for an advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations in relation to the presence and activities of the United Nations, other international organizations, and third states, including with respect to humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank. De facto, this amounts to U.S. support for Israel’s banning of UNRWA from Palestine.
The United States voted against the resolution and continues to be of the view that the referral is inappropriate because it unduly singles out Israel and allegedly does not advance efforts to achieve progress toward a ceasefire. While the United States officially supports the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, the demand that the money not be subject to being diverted to terrorist activities has effectively allowed Israel to stop the humanitarian aid.
The U.S. remarks at the hearing focused on the narrow legal questions The U.S. remarks stressed the particular importance of using established legal frameworks and not taking up invitations from others to establish new obligations that have no basis in international law. The U.S. presentation also claimed that Israel has ample grounds to question UNRWA’s impartiality. Because of their accusations, Israel is not obligated to work with UNRWA.
