U.N. chief threatens ICJ referral over Israel-UNRWA measures

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Jan. 8 letter that he could refer Israel to the International Court of Justice if Jerusalem does not repeal laws and reverse measures targeting the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and return seized UNRWA assets and property. The letter, reported broadly on Jan. 13–14, framed recent Israeli steps as “in direct contravention of the obligations of Israel under international law. They must be reversed without delay.”

The dispute centers on a sequence of legal and operational moves by Israel. In October 2024, the Israeli parliament passed a law banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and in occupied East Jerusalem. Late in 2025, that law was amended to prohibit supplying electricity or water to UNRWA facilities. On Dec. 8, 2025, Israeli authorities entered UNRWA’s Sheikh Jarrah compound in the Maalot Dafna neighborhood of East Jerusalem, seized computer equipment, medical storage units and furniture, and removed the U.N. flag, replacing it with an Israeli flag. The U.N. treats East Jerusalem as occupied territory; Israel considers all of Jerusalem part of the state.

Guterres invoked the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations as a legal basis for a potential ICJ referral and referenced an October advisory opinion by the court that member states must resolve disputes with the U.N. through established legal mechanisms. He also wrote that UNRWA’s Sheikh Jarrah compound is U.N. property and therefore “inviolable” under international law, and warned that failure to restore seized premises, return assets and ensure protection of U.N. personnel and their privileges could trigger legal action.

UNRWA, created by the U.N. General Assembly in 1949, provides aid, health and education services to millions of Palestinians across Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Its schools and clinics are a critical part of humanitarian infrastructure in the region; measures that curtail basic utilities or access risk rapid operational degradation. Humanitarian specialists say interruptions to power or water at clinics and schools would not only worsen civilian conditions but also raise the logistical and fiscal burden on international donors and neighboring host states.

Israel has defended its actions as driven by security and accountability concerns. Officials have long accused parts of UNRWA of being compromised and have argued that alternative aid mechanisms could replace the agency. Responding to Guterres’s letter, Israel called the communication “harsh.” Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said: “We are not fazed by the Secretary-General’s threats,” and accused the secretary-general of “defending an organization marred by terrorism.”

The prospect of an ICJ referral elevates the dispute from a diplomatic standoff to formal legal contest, with potential long-term costs. ICJ proceedings are typically protracted and their rulings can carry reputational and normative weight even when enforcement is limited. Economically, a referral and sustained restrictions on UNRWA operations could complicate aid flows, increase humanitarian expenditures, and prompt donors to reassess funding modalities to mitigate operational risk.

Policymakers now face a choice between de-escalation—repealing contested measures and restoring UNRWA privileges—or a prolonged legal and diplomatic confrontation that could unsettle an already fragile humanitarian ecosystem and intensify geopolitical divisions over Jerusalem and Palestinian services.