Ardi Imseis tells ICJ: Unrwa 'last hope for Palestinians to survive genocide'

Professor Ardi Imseis, representing the state of Palestine before the International Court of Justice, on 28 April 2025, addressed the history of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) and Israel’s obligations towards the agency.

He argues that Israel's obstruction of the agency's work has short-term and long-term objectives.

"At the very least, in the short term Israel is pursuing the erasure of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and ultimately in the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories, including through forcible transfer," he said, citing the forced displacement of some 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023 and Israeli officials' public statements declaring the intention to prevent the displaced from returning.

"Quite simply, Unrwa is the last hope that the Palestinian people, particularly in the Gaza Strip, have of surviving Israel’s genocide against them," he told the court.

"More broadly, Israel’s long-term purpose behind destroying Unrwa rests in its complete denial of the existence of the Palestinian people, and in particular the status, rights and claims of millions of Palestinian refugees to return, to restitution and to compensation," said Imseis. "But you need not take my word for it. The prime minister of Israel has openly admitted as much on multiple occasions, including - it must be stressed - years before 7 October 2023."

Catch MEE LIVE, our new biweekly live news programme, where we take a look at the news shaping our world through breaking coverage, expert analysis and hard-hitting interviews.

MEE LIVE: Tuesday & Thursday | 12pm ET | 5pm BST |
Join the conversation at MEELive@middleeasteye.org

Support stories that matter. Join this channel to get access to perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCR0fZh5SBxxMNYdg0VzRFkg/join

Subscribe to our channel: ow.ly/AVlW30n1OWH

Subscribe to MEE Telegram channel to stay up to date: t.me/MiddleEastEye_TG

Middle East Eye Website: middleeasteye.net/
Follow us on TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@middleeasteye
Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/MiddleEastEye
Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/MiddleEastEye
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/MiddleEastEye