"United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he could take his country to the International Court of Justice if it does not repeal laws targeting the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) and return its seized assets and property. In a January 8 letter to Netanyahu, Guterres said the UN cannot remain indifferent to actions taken by Israel, which are in direct contravention of the obligations of Israel under international law. They must be reversed without delay."
"The UN considers East Jerusalem occupied by Israel. Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be part of the country. Guterres said that UNRWA is an integral part of the United Nations, and highlighted that Israel remains under an obligation to accord UNRWA and its personnel the privileges and immunities specified in the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN. The convention states that the premises of the United Nations shall be inviolable."
Israel passed an October 2024 law banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and prohibiting Israeli officials from having contact with the agency. The law was amended to ban electricity and water to UNRWA facilities and Israeli authorities seized UNRWA's occupied East Jerusalem offices. The UN considers East Jerusalem occupied while Israel asserts all of Jerusalem as its territory. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the UN could pursue the International Court of Justice unless the laws are repealed and seized assets returned. Guterres stressed UNRWA's integral UN status and privileges under the 1946 Convention. Israel's UN ambassador dismissed the warning, alleging UNRWA personnel involvement in terrorism.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]