Palestine Friday submitted its written note to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel’s obligations regarding the presence and activities of the UN and its agencies in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said that Palestine submitted its written note to the ICJ, seeking the court’s advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations towards the UN presence and activities in Palestine.
Palestine said that in its written note, it confirmed that Israel is obliged “not obstruct the work of the UN, international organizations, and third states in the occupied territories.”
It added that Israel’s systematic and widespread violations of the Palestinian people’s rights as well as its obstruction of the efforts of UN agencies in the occupied territories “violate the obligations of Israel under international humanitarian law and human rights law.”
Palestine also highlighted the Israeli measures against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), mostly Israel’s recent ban of UNRWA to operate in the occupied territories.
Despite heavy diplomatic backlash, Israel on Jan. 30 formally banned UNRWA from operating in occupied East Jerusalem, and later in February attacked its facilities in the course of its military offensive in the northern occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian note also “called for bringing an end to the illegitimate occupation of Palestinian territories, and obliging the occupying power to comply without delay with all of its legal obligations toward the Palestinian people.”
The Palestinian broadcaster noted that many countries and international groups including the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the African Union, have submitted their written pleas to the ICJ within the designated timeframe.
The ICJ declared in July last year that Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories is “unlawful,” demanding the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.