A Palestinian diplomat told the United Nations’ top court on Monday that Israel is killing and displacing civilians and targeting aid workers in Gaza, in a case that Israel criticized as part of its “systematic persecution and delegitimization.”

While Israel was not in court, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar hit back at the case.

“I accuse UNRWA, I accuse the U.N., I accuse the secretary-general and I accuse all those that weaponized international law and its institutions in order to deprive the most attacked country in the world, Israel, of its most basic right to defend itself,” he told a news conference in Jerusalem. He said the court hearing was part of a “systematic persecution and delegitimization” of his country.