The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution yesterday (Thursday) asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to give an opinion on Israel’s humanitarian obligations to the Palestinians, at a time when the Israeli government is accused of blocking access to aid in the Gaza Strip.

The resolution, drafted and tabled by Norway, was adopted by a large majority: 137 countries voted in favour, 12 against and 22 abstained.

It asks the ICJ to clarify what Israel is obliged to do to “guarantee and facilitate the unimpeded delivery of aid that is essential for the survival of the Palestinian civilian population.”

Although the rulings of the ICJ, the UN’s top judicial body based in The Hague, are legally binding, the institution has no means of enforcing compliance.

However, they are stepping up diplomatic pressure onIsrael.

In July, the ICJ issued, in a separate case, an advisory opinion that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is “illegal” and must end as soon as possible.

Israel is tightly controlling all humanitarian aid shipments destined for the enclave and desperately needed by the 2.4 million Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip, where the humanitarian situation is dire.

The Israeli government, which is imposing an absolute siege on the small coastal region, often accuses humanitarian agencies and international organizations of proving unable to distribute large amounts of aid.

It is “a disaster to which the international community has not been able to react in an adequate way,” Andreas Kravik, Norway’s deputy foreign minister, told the French news agency.

“It is not due to the international community’s lack of will to provide humanitarian aid,” the problem is that “we don’t have access (to Gaza) and we don’t ensure the cooperation we need,” he added.

Norway’s initiative followed the Israeli parliament’s adoption in October of a law banning, as of the end of January, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from any activity on Israeli territory and outlawing any coordination with Israeli authorities.

Israeli authorities in January accused UNRWA members of participating in the massacre committed in the southern part of Israeli territory on 7 October 2023 by members of the military arm of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

“I don’t know what will happen when this law comes into force,” Stefan Dujarik, the UN secretary-general’s spokesman, admitted yesterday (Thursday).

“Let’s be clear: UNICEF cannot replace the approximately 2,000 teachers working for UNRWA in West Bank schools. WHO (the World Health Organization) cannot replace the hundreds, if not more, Palestinian health professionals working in UNRWA clinics. It is simply impossible,” he added.

For his part, Danny Dannon, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, accused the General Assembly of refusing to move forward and argued that “the ICJ is now instrumentalized.”