Credit: United Nations

Last Monday, June 17, Israel’s Supreme Court held a hearing on a petition submitted by several human rights organizations, all of them NIF grantees, to address Israel’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 

Back in March, Gisha, together with the Adalah, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, and Physicians for Human Rights Israel, filed a petition to Israel’s High Court demanding it order the state to enable access of all humanitarian aid, facilitate its distribution within Gaza, and provide for the needs of the civilian population. Israeli officials argued that sufficient aid is entering Gaza. 

In the wake of last week’s hearing, the justices issued an order that placed the burden of proof on the government, demanding it demonstrate that it is enabling enough humanitarian supplies to reach Palestinians in Gaza. The state has 10 days to respond.

The court is evidently taking the concerns raised by these Israeli human rights organizations seriously. Last week’s discussion, the third hearing on the matter, lasted three hours, and representatives of the military’s civilian-control arm, COGAT, which oversees the entry of humanitarian aid into the strip, had been ordered to appear.  

As a result of the court order, the government will need to counter claims that it continues to hinder—to some extent—the supply of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and respond to the question of why it is doing so.