Date: October 23, 2025
• Commends the efforts of the Kingdom of Norway behind the issuance of the advisory opinion
• Says donor countries have no justification to continue suspending their funding after the Court confirmed UNRWA’s neutrality
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The Department of Refugee Affairs of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) welcomed today, Thursday, the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which obliges the Israeli occupation to cooperate with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and support humanitarian assistance efforts in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement issued by its Media Office, the Department described the advisory opinion as a major legal and political victory for UNRWA, noting that it comes from the highest judicial body within the United Nations system.
The Department explained that the ICJ’s advisory opinion refutes and proves false the Israeli occupation’s claims that UNRWA violated the principle of neutrality or that some of its staff participated in the October 7, 2023 attack, or that it engaged in any form of discrimination in the occupied Palestinian territory—allegations which Israel used as a pretext to impose political and financial restrictions on the Agency, ban its work and activities in territories under its control, and seek to terminate its mandate.
The Department praised the efforts of the Kingdom of Norway, which succeeded in advancing the UN resolution requesting the Court to provide its advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations as an occupying power under international law concerning the presence and activities of the United Nations and other international organizations in the occupied Palestinian territory. It called on Norway to continue its political and diplomatic efforts within UN bodies to transform the Court’s legal opinion into political resolutions through the General Assembly that would compel Israel to implement them.
The Department urged donor countries that froze or imposed restrictions and conditions on their funding to reconsider their decisions, stressing that there are no justifications for the continued suspension of funding following the Court’s confirmation of UNRWA’s neutrality and the lack of evidence supporting Israel’s allegations.
“The ICJ’s advisory opinion made it clear that UNRWA is a neutral organization that must be allowed to operate, and disproved Israel’s accusations that its staff were involved in the events of October 7, 2023. This requires collective action by UN member states to form an international investigation committee to hold Israel accountable for the killing of more than 370 staff members since the beginning of the war—306 of them UNRWA employees, in addition to 72 others supporting UNRWA operations—as well as for the detention of hundreds of staff members, and the destruction of schools, clinics, relief centers, and other facilities, and the closure of its offices,” the statement said.
The Department emphasized that the ICJ’s advisory opinion provides a legal and political foundation for collective action by UN member states to compel the occupying power to allow the entry of humanitarian aid, cooperate with international organizations—foremost among them UNRWA—and respect the principles of international law, international humanitarian law, and relevant conventions, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, the UN Charter (including Articles 2 and 105), and relevant General Assembly resolutions concerning the protection and immunities of international organizations, including Resolution 302 establishing UNRWA under Article 17, and the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.
The Department called on the international community to support UNRWA politically and financially, safeguard its mandate, and ensure the continuity of its indispensable services until the question of Palestinian refugees is resolved in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194.
It also urged all member states to ensure Israel’s full and immediate compliance with the Court’s order, stressing the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities in achieving justice for the Palestinian people, ensuring their international protection, and upholding the privileges and immunities granted to UNRWA and the safety of its staff and facilities. The Department further called for guaranteeing the freedom of movement of UNRWA personnel and vehicles through Israel and into the occupied Palestinian territory, and for reopening its closed offices in Sheikh Jarrah and resuming its activities in occupied East Jerusalem.
