ICJ hearing: Russia, Turkey condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza

Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian territories are leading to a crisis of legality and humanity, Russia told the International Court of Justice, ICJ, on Wednesday.

At the ongoing public hearing on Israeli obligations, a Russian official, Maksim Musikhin, warned that Gaza is currently on the brink of famine, while hospitals lie in ruins.

Musikhin, Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Director of the Legal Department, said Israel is bound by international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention and The Hague Regulations.

Musikhin protested the “humanitarian catastrophe of unprecedented scale” in Gaza since Israel’s total blockade began on March 2, along with resumed military operations.

Musikhin criticised Israel for undermining the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA, and disregarding its obligations to ensure food, health, and hygiene services reach war victims.

The Russian said Gaza’s humanitarian system will collapse without UNRWA, and commended the agency’s efforts, which are “supported by the vast majority of the international community.”

“Israeli laws on the prohibition of the UNRWA’s activities violate actual norms and principles,” Musikhin stated.

Also on Wednesday, Turkey accused Israel of using hunger as a weapon against civilians, saying the international community has not done enough to prevent destruction in Palestinian territories.

Nuh Yılmaz, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, said the international community “has gravely failed to halt the Israeli aggression and the loss of tens of thousands of innocent lives in Gaza.”

“Where there is no law enforced to stop Israel, there is chaos, anarchy, and mass killings amounting to genocide in Gaza,” the official asserted.

He echoed Turkey’s condemnation of Israel’s attacks on UNRWA, its prohibition on the agency’s operations, and the killing of Turkish-American humanitarian Aysenur Ezgi Eygi during protests in the West Bank.

Yılmaz decried the risks to aid workers and urged the ICJ to issue an opinion that reaffirms Israel’s obligations under international law and guarantees justice, peace, and security for both Palestinians and Israelis.