UN must stand trial, not Israel – foreign minister

Gideon Saar has lashed out at the global body, as the International Court of Justice begins hearings over Gaza

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has demanded that the United Nations and its refugee agency UNRWA face trial in place of Israel, as the UN top court began hearings on Monday on West Jerusalem’s role in the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) aim to examine whether Israel’s ban on UNRWA, the agency that provides food, education and medical care to the residents of Gaza, violates international law, including the UN Charter.

Speaking at a news conference, Saar accused the UN of “double standards” and claimed that Israel had been subjected to “systematic persecution and delegitimization” by the international body.

“I accuse UNRWA, I accuse the UN, I accuse the secretary general, and I accuse all those that weaponized international law” of depriving his country of “its most basic right to defend itself,” Saar said, stating that it’s “the UN and UNRWA that should be on trial today, not Israel.”

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The foreign minister went on to slam the New York-based institution as “a rotten, anti-Israel and antisemitic body.”

The Israeli government has refused to take part in the hearings, which are scheduled to run for a week and will hear evidence from 40 states and four international organizations.

A Palestinian representative told the court on Monday that Israel was killing and displacing civilians and targeting aid workers in Gaza. On Tuesday, a South African representative claimed that the “Palestinians are being subjected to atrocity, crimes, persecution, apartheid and genocide.”

Israel designated UNRWA a “terrorist organization” and cut ties with the agency in November. It has also claimed many of its workers have engaged in terrorism in recent years, including taking part in the October 7 deadly attack by Hamas on southern Israel, which triggered the offensive into Gaza.

While the UN has confirmed some individual cases and dismissed nine workers suspected of links to Hamas, it has rejected Israel’s broader allegations.

The conflict in the enclave has resulted in over 51,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Most are reported to be civilians, including a significant number of women and children.

READ MORE: How Israel hunts and executes Palestinian medics

The humanitarian situation has deteriorated sharply due to an Israeli-imposed blockade, leading to severe shortages of food, medical supplies, and other essential resources. International organizations have expressed grave concern over the crisis and its impact on the civilian population.