A senior Palestinian official has told the United Nations’ top court that Israel was blocking humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza as a “weapon of war”.
Kicking off a week of hearings at the International Court of Justice about Israel’s obligations to United Nations aid agencies, Ammar Hijazi told judges: “Starvation is here. Humanitarian aid is being used as a weapon of war.”
The ICJ is holding a week of hearings over Israel’s obligations to the UN, including aid agencies, in war-ravaged Gaza before delivering a non-binding “advisory opinion”.
Dozens of countries and organisations will address the 15-judge panel in a marathon set of hearings.
Israel is not participating in the hearings but its ally the United States will take part on Wednesday.
“All UN-supported bakeries in Gaza have been forced to shut their doors. Nine of every ten Palestinians have no access to safe drinking water,” said Mr Hijazi.
“Storage facilities of the UN and other international agencies are empty.”
Israel strictly controls all inflows of international aid vital for the 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza.
It halted aid deliveries to Gaza on 2 March, days before the collapse of a ceasefire that had significantly reduced hostilities after 15 months of war.
The UN estimates 500,000 Palestinians have been displaced since the two-month ceasefire ended in mid-March.
The UN has asked the ICJ to rule “with the utmost urgency” on the case but will likely take several months to reach its opinion.
Judges will consider Israel’s legal obligations towards the UN and its agencies, international organisations or third-party states to “ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population”.
Although the ICJ’s advisory opinions are not legally binding, the court believes they “carry great legal weight and moral authority”.
Hearings are ‘systemic persecution’ of Israel, says minister
Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the hearings are part of a “systematic persecution” of Israel.
“This case is part of a systematic persecution and delegitimisation of Israel,” Mr Saar told journalists in Jerusalem.
“It is not Israel that should be on trial. It is the UN and UNRWA,” he added, referring to the UN aid agency for Palestinians.
In July, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion confirming that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories was “unlawful” and must end as soon as possible.
“The parties to the conflict have shown little commitment to comply with international law,” said Haris Huremagic, a PhD candidate at the Geneva Graduate Institute.
“The request for an advisory opinion reflects broad frustration with the lack of meaningful dialogue to address the dire situation in Gaza,” Mr Huremagic wrote on the Voelkerrechtsblog on international law.
Norway’s initiative was triggered by an Israeli law banning the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, from operating on Israeli soil.
Israel accused some UNRWA staff of participating in the Hamas attack.
Independent investigations say it has not provided evidence for its headline allegation.
