Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has firmly rejected the upcoming International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearing concerning Israel’s ban on the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), calling it “ridiculous” and accusing the United Nations of trying to undermine Israel’s right to self-defense.
Speaking at the 2025 JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem on Sunday night, Sa’ar announced that Israel would not participate in the proceedings scheduled to begin tomorrow at The Hague.
“We Will Not Be There”
Sa’ar made it clear that Israel sees the ICJ hearing as an attack on its sovereignty and legitimacy.
“This will be the fourth time Israel will be brought to this court since the beginning of the war [in Gaza]. I don’t think there is a precedent for this,” he said. “The only purpose of this is to delegitimize Israel and undermine our right to self-defense.”
He emphasized that rather than defending itself at the ICJ, Israel plans to accuse the UN and the ICJ of bias.
“We will not be there in The Hague,” Sa’ar declared. “Israel should accuse, and that is exactly what we’re going to do.”
Israel Rejects ICJ Jurisdiction
The Foreign Minister also stressed that Israel is not a member state of the ICJ and has not signed the Rome Statute, much like the United States.
“It is ridiculous to have this against a nonmember state,” Sa’ar argued.
By refusing to participate, Israel sends a strong message that it rejects the legitimacy of the current ICJ process, which it views as politically motivated rather than legally grounded.
