The U.N. General Assembly voted 137-12, with 22 abstentions, to ask the International Court of Justice for its legal opinion on what aid Israel is obliged to provide so Palestinians can survive in Gaza and the West Bank.
The vote on Thursday in the 193-nation world body provides a reflection of world opinion and sets up another opportunity for its top court to weigh in on Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Norway drafted the resolution opposed by Argentina, Czechia, Fiji, Hungary, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tonga and the United States.
Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said 137 countries "sent a powerful message: It is unacceptable for Israel to block the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians living under occupation."
It was a response to Israel's parliament passing legislation last year that does not directly ban but effectively blocks the work of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. UNRWA has operated since May 1950.
The Hague-based ICJ, which is the United Nations' highest court, is being asked to deliver a legally non-binding opinion spelling out Israel's obligations to facilitate aid for Palestinians that comes from countries and international organizations, including the United Nations.
The resolution also expresses "grave concern about the dire humanitarian situation" in occupied Palestinian territories and "calls upon Israel to uphold and comply with its obligations not to impede the Palestinian people from exercising its right to self-determination" and to get help.
Forestalling a loss of 'all hope for the future'
In July, the ICJ determined Israel’s occupation violates international law and called for its withdrawal from those territories “as rapidly as possible.”
The U.N. top court's historic advisory opinion said Israel should pay full reparations for damages caused over the more than half-century occupation. That would include the right to return of land, assets, and cultural property seized from Palestinians since 1967.
Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon urged the U.N. Security Council to replace UNRWA with an entity that does not undercut Israel's security. The U.N. has said it fired nine UNRWA staffers who may have been involved with the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and other U.N. officials, however, say no other agency can replace UNRWA. Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide also notes that millions of Palestinians depend entirely on UNRWA for food and basic services like education and health care.
"If UNRWA is forced to discontinue activities in Palestine, some 330,000 children and young people will lose their opportunity to go to school," he said. "People who are already deeply affected by war and conflict may lose all hope for the future. This could make the Middle East an even more dangerous place."
