The International Court of Justice will hold hearings at the end of April to determine Israel’s humanitarian obligations toward the Palestinians. The move comes in the wake of the Israeli government’s decision to block aid to the Gaza Strip.
In December, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution, submitted by Norway two months earlier and adopted by a large majority, requesting the world body’s most senior court provide an advisory opinion on the issue.
Oslo requested that the court “give an advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations as an occupying power to facilitate humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people,” according to a statement published at the time, adding that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and “several countries” had already expressed their support for its initiative.
While the ICJ’s rulings are legally binding, its advisory opinions are not, and in any case the court has no means of enforcing them. However, the whole process is likely to further ratchet up diplomatic pressure on Israel.
Israel has allowed hundreds of thousands of tons of humanitarian aid into the Strip since the start of the Swords of Iron war—although the government accuses Hamas of stockpiling and keeping it from civilians. Jerusalem decided on March 2 to halt aid deliveries after Hamas rejected a U.S. bridging proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire with Israel.
Norway launched its initiative after the Knesset voted overwhelmingly to ban UNRWA from either operating on Israel’s sovereign territory or coordinating with the Israeli government. The law came into effect in January, and was a direct response to Israel Defense Forces findings that UNRWA employees had taken an active part in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 massacre.