This came in interventions by representatives of Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and South Africa before the International Court of Justice on Tuesday, the second day of its week-long hearings to discuss Israel's humanitarian obligations toward the Palestinians as an "occupying power" under international law.
Saudi Arabia warned that Israel's prevention of aid from entering Gaza serves its ethnic cleansing by deporting and killing Palestinians, enabling it to occupy the Strip.
"Impunity has led Israel to block the entry of aid to the Palestinians, a horrific act that compounds its illegal behavior," said the Kingdom's representative before the court, Mohammed Saud Al-Nasser . "Nothing justifies Israel's brutality in preventing the entry of food, medicine, and fuel into Gaza."
Al-Nasser warned that "Israel's prevention of the entry of food, medicine, and fuel into Gaza serves the ethnic cleansing it is carrying out by deporting and killing Palestinians to enable it to occupy the Strip."
He added, "Israel considers itself above all laws and refuses to comply with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice calling on it to halt its aggression against Gaza."
The Saudi representative accused Israel of "ignoring international demands to halt the war on Gaza and exacerbating the situation in the Strip, turning it into a graveyard for thousands of innocents." He emphasized that "Israel is obligated to facilitate the work of humanitarian organizations, particularly UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) in Gaza and the West Bank."
Algeria said that Israel's ban on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) operating in the Palestinian territories constitutes "a denial of the Palestinians' right to return to their land."
Maya Sahli Fadel, Algeria's representative at the public sessions of the International Court of Justice, stressed that "the agency's failure (by the international community) reinforces the policy of double standards towards international law."
She added, "Algeria would like to remind you that there are more than 6 million Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA, which operates 58 camps and 711 schools with 550,000 students." She also affirmed the Palestinians' right to relief and humanitarian aid, and that "Israel is obligated not to prevent or obstruct UNRWA's activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem."
In a pleading before the International Court of Justice, South Africa's representative, Rukanya Tilleh, accused Israel of ignoring international laws requiring it to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip and protect humanitarian workers, applying collective punishment against Palestinian civilians.
"Israel ignores the laws obligating it to bring aid into Gaza and has imposed another blockade on the Strip for eight weeks following the UNRWA ban," Tillet said. "Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remain under Israeli military occupation, and the laws of occupation apply there."
She stressed that "Israel cannot impose measures prohibited by international law, such as settlements, mass forced displacement, and targeting schools and educational curricula to erase Palestinian history."
She added, "Israel cannot impose collective punishment by indiscriminately bombing Palestinian civilians, in flagrant violation of its legal obligations as an occupying power."
On April 9, the International Court of Justice, the United Nations' principal judicial organ, announced that 40 countries (excluding Israel) and four international and regional organizations had expressed their intention to participate in oral arguments before the court in The Hague, Netherlands, over the course of a week.
On 19 December 2024, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution requesting an advisory opinion from the Court on Israel's obligations regarding the presence and activities of the United Nations and other organizations in the occupied Palestinian territory.
This came after the Israeli parliament (the Knesset) approved a law banning UNRWA's activities, despite the Palestinians' dire need for its services under the genocide being perpetrated against them by Tel Aviv.
On March 28 and January 26, 2024, the International Court of Justice issued two sets of provisional measures requested by South Africa in a case accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
These measures include the unimpeded provision of essential services and much-needed humanitarian aid, as well as medical supplies and care to Palestinians throughout Gaza. However, Israel continues to ignore these measures, closing all Gaza crossings , pushing the Strip into a state of famine by preventing the entry of humanitarian aid and life-saving medical supplies.
On July 29, 2024, the Court issued an advisory opinion affirming that Israel's continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is "illegal." It emphasized that international organizations, including the United Nations, are obligated not to recognize the situation resulting from this illegal Israeli presence.
Palestinians' need for UNRWA, the largest international humanitarian organization, has grown exponentially under the weight of a genocidal war waged by Israel, with US support, on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. This war has left more than 170,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing.
In parallel with the genocidal war in Gaza, the Israeli occupation army and settlers have escalated their attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, resulting in the deaths of more than 958 Palestinians, the injury of approximately 7,000, and the arrest of 16,400, according to Palestinian data.
Israel has been blockading Gaza for 18 years, leaving approximately 1.5 million of its 2.4 million Palestinian citizens homeless after their homes were destroyed in the war of extermination.
