The International Court of Justice has delivered its advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Gaza.
The advisory opinion arose against the backdrop of Israel’s unilateral termination of its cooperation with UNRWA, which the ICJ concluded had been an indispensable provider of humanitarian relief in the Gaza Strip. The Court found that Israel had not substantiated its allegations that UNRWA had been infiltrated by Hamas or other terrorist factions. It ruled that that Israel is under obligations to ensure the basic needs of the Palestinian population (including supplies essential for their survival) and not to impede the operations of United Nations entities, other international organisations and third States, and to co-operate in good faith with the United Nations to ensure respect for the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
The advisory opinion is available here. It has been widely reported, including by the BBC, Reuters, Bloomberg, and Sky News.
Paul Reichler, Zac Sammour, Oliver Mills, Aliya Al-Yassin and Samuel Willis acted for the State of Palestine in the proceedings before the International Court of Justice together with colleagues from outside of Chambers.
