Request for an Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Obligations of Israel in Relation to the Presence and Activities of the United Nations, Other International Organizations and Third States

UNRWA’s mandate stems from the GA’s response to the Palestinian refugee crisis during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war (A/RES/302(IV) (1949)).¹ Following attacks by Hamas and other armed groups on Israeli territory and citizens on 7 October 2023, Israel launched a series of operations in Gaza, which resulted in the displacement of large portions of the population and which were also accompanied by significant limitations on humanitarian aid and relief.² On 28 October 2024, the Israeli Knesset adopted two laws to bar UNRWA from operating within Israel, no longer recognize UNRWA’s privileges and immunities, and prohibit Israeli authorities from having any contact with UNRWA staff.³ In a 28 October 2024 letter to the GA, the Secretary-General noted that UNRWA had been the “main provider of basic and essential services” in Gaza, including health services to 1.1 million people and food assistance to 1.9 million people, and warned there was no “realistic alternative to UNRWA which could adequately provide the services and assistance required” should UNRWA’s operations be halted due to these laws (A/79/558). The Secretary-General also requested “guidance and support” from the GA “at this critical juncture in the history of UNRWA” (ibid.). Other international organizations and Member States reported Israeli limitations on their efforts to provide or support basic services and humanitarian and development assistance in the OPT.⁴

In response to these dynamics, on 19 December 2024, the GA requested an ICJ advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations in relation to the presence and activities of the UN, other international organizations and third States in and in relation to the OPT (A/RES/79/232, adopted by 137-12-22). Specifically, the GA requested the ICJ to consider:

What are the obligations of Israel, as an occupying Power and as a member of the United Nations, in relation to the presence and activities of the United Nations, including its agencies and bodies, other international organizations and third States, in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population as well as of basic services and humanitarian and development assistance, for the benefit of the Palestinian civilian population, and in support of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination? (A/RES/79/232, para. 10).

In the same resolution, the GA had contextualized its request by expressing grave concern about the recent legislation adopted by Israel to interfere with UNRWA’s operations, and by recalling the legal protections and principles of the UN Charter, the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, and other applicable principles and rules of international law.

The ICJ delivered its advisory opinion on 22 October 2025. The Court found that Israel is obliged under international humanitarian law to ensure that the population of the OPT has essential supplies and to facilitate relief schemes to distribute those supplies, including by UNRWA (and in turn, Israel is obliged not to impede such relief) (A/80/502, para. 223(3)(a), (b)). Additionally, the Court ruled that Israel, as an occupying Power, “has an obligation … to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights” of the OPT population, “including through the presence and activities of the United Nations” (ibid., para. 223(4)), and that Israel is obliged to “co-operate in good faith with the United Nations … including [UNRWA]” (ibid., para. 223(5)). Further, Israel has an obligation “to ensure full respect for the privileges and immunities accorded to the United Nations, including its agencies and bodies” (ibid., para. 223(6)).

On 12 December 2025, the GA adopted resolution 80/116, welcoming the advisory opinion and affirming its findings (A/RES/80/116, paras. 1, 3-4). The GA also demanded that Israel comply with its obligations under international law in the OPT, including to “administer the territory for the benefit of the local population”, to “cooperate in good faith with the UN” and not obstruct its functions, to ensure “full respect for the privileges and immunities of the United Nations”, to respect “the prohibition on forcible transfer and deportation” in the OPT and “the prohibition on the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare”, among others (ibid., para. 5).