ALBAWABA - Norway plans to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) denouncing Israel's decision to end cooperation with the UN Palestinian Relief Agency UNRWA.
Last month, the Israeli Knesset passed two bills prohibiting UN Agency from entering Israeli territories and prohibiting Israeli state contact with the agency, preventing it from delivering aid to Gaza in response to Israel's allegations that members of UNRWA staff in Gaza were involved in Hamas' attacks on October 7.
The UN conducted an investigation into the Israeli charges and fired nine Unrwa employees as a result.
Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik, Norway's deputy foreign minister, has been holding preliminary meetings at the UN in New York to prepare a draft resolution to be presented to the UN general assembly, which would request an advisory opinion from the UN court in order to protect UNRWA's existence.
The Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, said: “The international community cannot accept that the UN, international humanitarian organizations, and states continue to face systematic obstacles when working in Palestine and delivering humanitarian assistance to Palestinians under occupation, The Guardian reported.
Speaking in Geneva, UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, stated that the agency was experiencing one of its darkest periods in history.
"I have brought to the attention of the member states that the clock is ticking. We have to stop or prevent the implementation of this bill," he told reporters, adding that there was no other option for the agency's services in Gaza but to enable Israel to take them over.
