The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday approved a resolution asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to rule on Israel's humanitarian obligations towards the Palestinians, as the Israeli government is accused of obstructing access to aid to the Gaza Strip. The resolution, submitted by Norway, was adopted by a large majority: 137 countries voted for, 12 against, and 22 abstained.
She asks the ICJ to clarify what Israel is required to do to “guarantee and facilitate the unhindered delivery of supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population”. Although the decisions of the ICJ, the highest court of the UN based in The Hague, are legally binding, the court has no concrete means to enforce them. But they increase diplomatic pressure on Israel.
The latter strictly controls all inflows of international aid, essential for the 2.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip hit by a humanitarian disaster. The Israeli government, which has imposed a total siege on the territory, often blames humanitarian organizations for their inability to distribute large quantities of products.
“It is a catastrophe that the international community has not been able to respond adequately”Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas M. Kravik told Agence France-Presse.
“It is not a lack of willingness of the international community to provide humanitarian aid, but we do not have access [à Gaza] and we are not getting the collaboration we need”he regretted.
Norway's initiative was triggered by the adoption in October by the Israeli Parliament of a law banning, from the end of January, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA) to operate on Israeli soil and to coordinate with the Israeli authorities. They accuse UNRWA employees of having participated in the bloody attacks of October 7, 2023.
