“Novel legal interpretations will not bring an end to the ongoing conflict,” said an attorney for the U.S. State Department. “They will not bring the hostages home.”
The United States spoke in defense of Israel at the International Court of Justice on Wednesday, as the court heard arguments about the Jewish state’s obligations to provide humanitarian aid as the “occupying power” over the Gaza Strip, and Judea and Samaria.
Joshua Simmons, a lawyer in the office of the legal adviser at the U.S. State Department, urged the court to reject novel legal theories that international law might require Israel to work with specific U.N. agencies, such as the U.N. Relief and Works Agency.
“International law does not impose any unqualified obligations on an occupying power regarding all these entities, much less any particular entity,” Simmons told the court. “The General Assembly does not have the power to impose on Israel a perpetual obligation to cooperate with UNRWA.”