CRAIG MURRAY, craigmurray1710@btinternet.com, @CraigMurrayOrg
He was apparently the only print journalist observing oral arguments during South Africa v. Israel at the International Court of Justice and has written extensively on the issue. He just wrote the piece “Has International Law Survived, or Has the Western Political Class Killed It?”
He notes that the ICJ, also known as the World Court, ordered that “The State of Israel shall … desist from … (a) the expulsion and forced displacement [of Palestinians] from their homes; (b) the deprivation of: (i) access to adequate food and water; (ii) access to humanitarian assistance, including access to adequate fuel, shelter, clothes, hygiene and sanitation; (iii) medical supplies and assistance; and (c) the destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza.”
Murray writes: “the immediate response to the ICJ ruling was a coordinated attack by Israel and the combined imperialist powers on UNRWA, designed to accelerate the genocide by stopping aid, to provide a propaganda counter-narrative to the ICJ judgment, and to reduce the credibility of UNRWA’s evidence before the court.”
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is the main pillar of humanitarian relief and needs for Palestinians in Gaza. The ICJ cited UNRWA ten times in its Order to Israel.
The New York Times reports that Israel charges that 12 of UNRWA’s 30,000 workers were involved in helping the Oct. 7 attack on Israel (several have been fired); noting that this is the “latest episode of a decades-long friction between Israel and the group.” The U.S. and several European governments have now halted funding to UNRWA based on Israel’s charges.
UN whistleblower and human rights lawyer Craig Mokhiber said on the Katie Halper Show that Israel has been out to destroy UNRWA “because it’s a lifeline to the Palestinians in Gaza.”
Francis Boyle recently appeared on MSNBC and argued that the U.S. and other governments abruptly cutting off UNRWA funds are now not simply complicit in Israel’s genocidal actions, but are themselves now directly in violation of Article 2c of the Genocide Convention since they are: “Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”
AFP reports that the UN Security Council, at the request of Algeria, will meet on Wednesday regarding the ICJ orders.
Trump had cut off funding to UNRWA in 2018, some of which was restored by Biden in 2021.
The Intercept reports: “New York Times Puts ‘Daily’ Episode on Ice Amid Internal Firestorm Over Hamas Sexual Violence Article.”
See related IPA news releases.
