Gaza: Why distrust of UN has deepened at a moment of greatest need
To the Israelis, the United Nations has betrayed them.
To the Palestinians, the United Nations is abandoning them.
Israeli officials allege that 12 members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the primary U.N. body supporting Palestinian refugees, aided Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and that 10% of UNRWA’s staff in Gaza has ties to Hamas.
Palestinians decry the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, the U.N.’s top court, for refusing to call for a cease-fire in Gaza as it considers charges of “genocide” brought by South Africa against Israel. And they accuse the U.N. of being unable to protect civilians in Gaza from bombardment, even in its own facilities.
The two perspectives are vastly different, and yet they both point to a key variable in this Mideast war: a lack of trust in outside institutions meant to impartially uphold international law and maintain peace and security.
Israeli and Palestinian distrust of the U.N. and its constituent bodies dates back decades.
Israel has long seen U.N. forums, particularly the U.N. Commission on Human Rights and General Assembly, as displaying an anti-Israel bias. Palestinians see the nonimplementation of numerous resolutions supporting their rights and self-determination as proof
