Israel refused to participate in a hearing on Monday before the top United Nations court in The Hague over the entry of aid to the Gaza Strip, as Palestinians accused Israel of wanting to destroy them.
“Israel intends the destruction of our people; it wants the erasure of the Palestinian people,” Ammar Hijazi, Palestinian ambassador to the Netherlands, told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Dutch city.
He argued that Israel is using humanitarian aid as a weapon, which he said constitutes a war crime. He described what he said were the unbearable conditions faced by the population in Gaza since the blockade of humanitarian aid began on March 2.
Gaza is turning into “a mass grave for the Palestinian people and those who came for their help,” Hijazi told the court.
ICJ hearing considers Israel’s responsibilities
The ICJ is holding a hearing about Israel’s legal obligation to “ensure and facilitate” urgently needed humanitarian aid “essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population.”
Israel closed all Gaza border crossings for aid deliveries on March 2, saying that it aims, with that measure, to increase pressure on the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to release hostages.
Israel accuses Hamas of seizing aid supplies by force and selling them at high prices to the civilian population. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, speaking at a press briefing in Jerusalem, said humanitarian aid had recently become Hamas’s main source of income.
Saar: ICJ misused for anti-Semitic purposes
Saar said that the ICJ is biased against Israel and that his country had “decided not to take part in this circus.
“It is another attempt to politicize and abuse the legal process in order to persecute Israel,” the foreign minister said. The aim, he said, was to “deprive Israel of its most basic right to defend itself.”
“No other country – neither a democracy nor any other regime – has been brought before the ICJ as often as Israel. No other nation is subjected to such systematic double standards,” Saar said.
The foreign minister further stated: “If the ICJ continues to be misused for anti-Semitic purposes, it will lose its credibility and legitimacy.”
Israel has long alleged – and Saar repeated it in his Monday press conference – that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) employs Hamas terrorists. Saar said UNRWA had more than 1,400 known terrorists on its payroll, some of whom were allegedly involved in the massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel imposed a work ban on UNRWA, which came into effect in January. However, the organization continues its operations.
UN: Israel obligated to care for Gazan people
The UN has demanded unrestricted access for aid supplies to people in the Gaza Strip. The total Israeli blockade of humanitarian aid, which has lasted nearly 60 days, is a violation of international law, said UN Under-Secretary General Elinor Hammarskjöld.
“Israel is obligated to care for the population and facilitate aid,” she said. Hammarskjöld also accused Israel of breaching international law by attacking UN facilities and staff.
The Gaza Strip is experiencing its worst humanitarian crisis since the war began more than one and a half years ago, according to the UN.
The current conflict broke out after Hamas militia and other groups invaded Israel, killing 1,200 and taking some 250 hostage. Israel then launched a war against Gaza, which has resulted, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority, in more than 51,000 killed.
The Hamas figures do not distinguish between military and civilian casualties and cannot be verified independently.
UN advisory opinion not legally binding
The UN General Assembly tasked the ICJ with issuing an advisory opinion. More than 40 countries have announced they will submit statements.
In July last year, the court had already declared Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories to be illegal. The court’s opinion is not legally binding but can increase international pressure on Israel.
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