UNITED NATIONS — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned Israel in a letter that he could refer the country to the International Court of Justice if it does not repeal laws targeting the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA and return seized assets and property.

In a January 8 letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Guterres said the United Nations cannot remain indifferent to “actions taken by Israel, which are in direct contravention of the obligations of Israel under international law. They must be reversed without delay.”

The Knesset passed a law in October 2024 banning the agency from operating in the country and prohibiting officials from having contact with the agency. It then amended that law last month to ban electricity or water to UNRWA facilities.

Israeli authorities also seized UNRWA’s East Jerusalem offices last month.

Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon on Tuesday dismissed Guterres’s letter to Netanyahu.

“We are not fazed by the Secretary-General’s threats,” Danon said. “Instead of dealing with the........

© The Times of Israel