All these donor countries are U.N. members and are, therefore, also parties to the ICJ’s statute. Except for Japan, they’ve also all signed and ratified the Genocide Convention, which was unanimously adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1948. As an instrument of international law, the convention obligates its 153 signatories to prevent the crime of genocide, and to punish or extradite persons committing any such acts listed in it.
So, as it became evident that conditions in Gaza would become even more nightmarish and horrific, it quickly seemed to turn into a Pyrrhic victory for those around the world who regarded the ICJ’s provisional order as a win for international law.
Of the 17 international judges presiding over this case, 16 of them — including Israeli ad hoc judge Aharon Barak — agreed with the urgent provisional measure stating that: “The State of Israel shall take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
Yet, 24 hours later, major donors began cutting their funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which is the main aid provider for 2.6 million Palestinians already facing a catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza. Why? Because Israel produced evidence that at least 12 of the nearly 13,000 UNRWA staff in Gaza were involved in the heinous Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on southern Israel, which led to the country’s retaliatory and ongoing military operation in Gaza.
However, despite the fact that UNRWA quickly dismissed nine employees over the allegations and launched an investigation — of those remaining, two are reportedly missing and one is dead — within days, this group came to include Australia, Austria, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
According to media reports, however, Israeli intelligence estimates that around 10 percent of UNRWA’s Gaza staff have ties to Islamist militant groups.