US backs Israel's ban on UNRWA Gaza aid operations at World Court

Israel cannot be forced to allow the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA to operate in Gaza, the United States said on Wednesday at a World Court hearing in The Hague.

Israel last year passed a law that banned UNRWA from operating in the country, as it said the organisation had employed members of Hamas who took part in the attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023.

The United Nations General Assembly in December asked the UN's top court to give an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to facilitate aid to Palestinians that is delivered by states and international groups, including the United Nations.

On the third day of hearings on the matter, the US said Israel had the right to determine which organisations could provide basic needs to the population of the occupied Palestinian territories.

"An occupational power retains a margin of appreciation concerning which relief schemes to permit," US State Department legal adviser Joshua Simmons said.

"Even if an organisation offering relief is an impartial humanitarian organisation, and even if it is a major actor, occupation law does not compel an occupational power to allow and facilitate that specific actor's relief operations."

Simmons also stressed the "serious concerns" Israel has about UNRWA's impartiality.

The US, which supplies Israel with the weapons used in its war on Gaza, has repeatedly defended Israel's actions despite growing international outrage.

UN and Palestinian representatives at the opening of hearings on Monday had accused Israel of breaking international law by refusing to let aid into Gaza.

Since 2 March, Israel has completely cut off all supplies to the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip, and food stockpiled during a ceasefire at the start of the year has all but run out.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar dismissed the court proceedings as a “circus,” while Israel continues to deny access to aid organisations attempting to reach those in desperate need.

(Reuters)