By Micah Jonah
January 14, 2026
United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres has warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel could be referred to the International Court of Justice ICJ if laws targeting the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA are not repealed and seized UN property returned.
In a letter dated January 8, to the Israeli leader Guterres said the United Nations cannot remain indifferent to actions taken by Israel that are in direct violation of its obligations under international law. He stressed that the measures must be reversed without delay.
Israel’s parliament in October 2024 passed legislation banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem and prohibiting Israeli officials from having contact with the agency. The law was later amended to block the provision of electricity and water to UNRWA facilities.
Last month Israeli authorities also seized UNRWA offices in occupied East Jerusalem. The United Nations considers East Jerusalem occupied territory while Israel regards the whole of Jerusalem as part of its sovereign state.
Guterres described UNRWA as an integral part of the United Nations, reminded Israel of its obligation to respect the privileges and immunities of the agency, its staff under the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. The convention states that UN premises are inviolable.
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon dismissed the warning describing it as a threat. In a post on X he said Israel was not fazed by the Secretary General’s position and accused UNRWA of being compromised by terrorism. He added that the UN leadership was defending the agency instead of addressing Israel’s allegations against it.
Israel has long called for the dissolution of UNRWA which was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 after the conflict surrounding the creation of Israel. The agency provides humanitarian aid, health care, education to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank Syria Lebanon and Jordan.
Israeli authorities have alleged that some UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7 2023 Hamas led attack on southern Israel in which more than one thousand people were killed and about 240 taken captive. The UN has said nine staff members suspected of involvement were dismissed and that it continues to investigate all allegations.
The United Nations has repeatedly asked Israel to provide evidence to support its claims and says such evidence has not been formally shared.
According to a UN report released on January 5 Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 382 UNRWA employees, making it the highest number of UN staff fatalities since the organization was founded in 1945. UN officials say many were killed during repeated strikes on UN facilities including schools and hospitals sheltering displaced civilians.
Senior UN officials and the UN Security Council have described UNRWA as the backbone of humanitarian operations in Gaza where the conflict has triggered a severe humanitarian crisis.
In October 2025 the International Court of Justice reaffirmed Israel’s obligation to respect the privileges and immunities of the United Nations including UNRWA and its personnel. The advisory opinion also stated that Israel must ensure the basic needs of Gaza’s civilian population are met.
While ICJ advisory opinions are not legally binding they carry significant legal and political weight.
