This came in a statement by Qatar's representative before the court, Mutlaq Al-Qahtani, during the ongoing hearings in The Hague related to the request for an advisory opinion submitted to the United Nations General Assembly regarding Israel's obligations as an occupying power in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Al-Qahtani asserted that Israel's war practices demonstrate "a complete disregard for human life," emphasizing that Israel "has not ended its occupation but rather continued its genocide against Palestinians, particularly in Gaza."
He added that Israel "uses humanitarian aid as a weapon against civilians and blackmails an entire people," considering that "starvation is a systematic Israeli policy and constitutes a war crime under the Rome Statute."
Al-Qahtani noted the "near-total collapse of Gaza's health sector as a result of Israeli violations," noting that "starvation in Gaza is not a temporary phenomenon, but rather a deliberate policy to achieve military objectives."
The International Court of Justice began a week-long hearing on Monday in The Hague, Netherlands, to discuss Israel's humanitarian obligations toward the Palestinians, more than 50 days after it imposed a comprehensive blockade on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023.
On April 9, the Court, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, announced that 40 states (excluding Israel) and four international and regional organizations had expressed their intention to participate in the oral arguments.
The hearings will be held between April 28 and May 2, with the participation of a number of countries and organizations, including the United Nations, Palestine, Egypt, Malaysia, Turkey, South Africa, and the United States, in addition to the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the African Union.
The background to these sessions stems from a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 19 December 2024, requesting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on Israel's legal obligations in the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly with regard to the presence and operation of UN agencies and other organizations there.
This decision came after the Israeli Knesset approved a law banning the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) within Israel, at a time when Palestinians are increasingly dependent on the agency's services under the pressure of genocide being perpetrated against them by Tel Aviv.
For its part, Israel announced its non-participation in the court's public hearings and strongly attacked the United Nations.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar accused UNRWA of being "an organization irreparably infiltrated by terrorism," adding that "the United Nations has become a corrupt, anti-Israel, and anti-Semitic body."
