The International Court of Justice in The Hague began public hearings on Monday, April 28, 2025, regarding the ongoing Israeli violations against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The hearings saw broad participation from 44 countries and 4 international organizations, including the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. During the sessions, it was pointed out that the Israeli occupation is using humanitarian aid as a weapon of war against the Palestinian people, in an attempt to strip the Palestinian cause of its political dimensions.
This international move comes amid decades-long efforts by the Israeli occupation, with clear support from the United States, to terminate and undermine UNRWA in a bid to liquidate the Palestinian refugee issue. In recent years, there have been repeated attempts to dry up the agency’s funding sources and isolate it on the international stage.
During the ongoing genocide in Palestine, the Israeli occupation is focusing on separating the issue of humanitarian aid from official international organizations. This aims to fragment the institutional structures of the Palestinian people and turn aid into a tool of pressure and blackmail controlled by the occupation to achieve its goals of forcibly displacing Palestinians—whether in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip.
This comes at a time when refugee camps in the West Bank are under brutal assault, including military attacks and forced displacement of refugees, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law. UNRWA schools have also come under attack, facing closures or threats of closure, representing a direct assault on Palestinian refugees’ right to education and exacerbating their humanitarian and social suffering.
It is worth noting that for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA is more than just a relief agency; it politically embodies the living international witness to the Nakba of the Palestinian people and their inalienable right of return. The very existence of UNRWA reflects the UN’s acknowledgment of the international community’s responsibility for the unresolved plight of Palestinian refugees. On a humanitarian level, UNRWA provides a lifeline to millions of refugees through education, healthcare, and social assistance, ensuring the minimum standards of human dignity and survival amid forced displacement, marginalization, and ongoing efforts to eliminate the refugee cause.
