It has been an eventful few weeks in international affairs. Israel’s bombardment of Gaza — bombings that have killed 26,751 and left 65,636 Palestinians wounded — was center stage in the top court of the United Nations. On Friday, Jan. 26, the court introduced six legally binding measures that Israel must follow.
Under the ruling, Israel must refrain from acts under the Genocide Convention, prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to genocide and take immediate and effective measures to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. In addition, the court also ordered Israel to preserve evidence of genocide and to submit a report within one month of all measures taken in line with the court’s orders.
The ruling does not call for a ceasefire, but the measures are virtually impossible to follow without a serious de-escalation of Israeli military action. The only problem is Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that Israel will not adhere to the ruling of the International Court of Justice.
It’s one of the weaknesses of international institutions of government such as the ICJ. While these decisions are legally binding, there is no meaningful enforcement mechanism for them. Simply put, there isn’t a world police force to make Israel stop its brutality in Gaza. It’s up to Israel itself or pressure from other nations to do so.
The same day of the court’s ruling, the Israeli government alleged that 12 members of the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) were involved in the attacks on Oct. 7. “To protect the agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay,” Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UNRWA said on Friday.
The UNRWA was created in 1949, following the removal of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the Nakba of 1948. According to its website, UNRWA’s mission is to support the relief and development of Palestinian refugees. The agency doesn’t have a set budget; instead, it relies on contributions from other countries.
Following Israel’s allegations, the United States – the largest individual contributor — immediately cut its funding from the UNRWA. Afterwards, Canada, Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Japan, Austria and Romania pulled their funding as well.
Any member of the UNRWA who committed any violation of international law during the attacks on Oct. 7 should be held accountable for their actions. However, this agency should not be punished for the actions of a few. The UNRWA is of paramount importance for the 2.3 million Palestinians throughout the Gaza strip. They are responsible for running Gaza’s schools, primary healthcare clinics and other social services. If funding is not resumed, the agency will have to cease its operations in Gaza by the end of February. Taking away this last form of aid for Palestinians continues the collective punishment that they have had to endure since Oct 7.
Israel has already brought a humanitarian disaster onto the Gaza strip through its bombings. According to the U.N., three liters of water are required daily for survival, yet in Gaza the average citizen only has access to 1.5 to two liters. Gaza’s 625,000 students do not have access to an education. Hospitals have been destroyed and they don’t have access to the internet.
So much western-endorsed terror has been inflicted onto Gaza and its people. Liberal democracies like the United States, Britain and Germany have sent over millions of dollars in weaponry to Israel. The UNRWA is literally the last line of hope for these people. Even after the rebuke of Israeli wartime policies at the ICJ, the Israeli military has kept up its relentless bombing and killing throughout the Gaza strip.
I understand that the thought of anyone working with humanitarian aid agencies being involved with war crimes is a chilling one. But this agency employs 13,000 people in Gaza. Only 12 employees have been accused; that’s less than a fraction of a percent of the entire workforce in Gaza.
In the United States, when a police officer unjustly murders one of the citizens they are supposed to protect and serve, does the government pull the funding of the entire department? No; in fact, most times, police officers are barely even prosecuted for their crimes in the United States, but that’s an issue for another article.
There are a lot of unknowns in international affairs, I will admit that. However, this is not one of those situations. Basic necessities in Gaza have been impossible to meet — healthcare, food, water, sanitation – are being operated and distributed through the UNRWA. There is no standard of life for the citizens of Gaza already; Israel’s bombings have made sure of that. The people of Gaza have literally nowhere else to go. Taking this agency away is sentencing a population that is 50% made up of children to death.