World court to hear UNRWA case this month

Israel’s conduct towards the UN agency for Palestinian refugees will be scrutinised by the UN’s highest court in The Hague this month, in hearings scheduled on Wednesday. The International Court of Justice will hear five days of evidence from April 28 to May 2 on Israel’s duties regarding the UN’s “presence and activities” in Palestine. In December, the UN’s General Assembly asked ICJ judges to consider the case, expressing “grave concern” about what it called Israel’s obstruction of UNRWA despite the “dire humanitarian situation” in Gaza.