Israeli authorities on Tuesday demolished buildings and other structures at the headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, in occupied East Jerusalem.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, called the move “a new level of open and deliberate defiance of international law” by Israel.
“What happens today to UNRWA will happen tomorrow to any other international organisation or diplomatic mission, whether in the Occupied Palestinian Territory or anywhere around the world,” he said on X.
The destruction of UNRWA’s compound is the latest action that Israel has taken against the organisation since the outbreak of the Gaza war. The UN agency's schools, healthcare centres and refugee camps have served four generations of Palestinian refugees since the 1948 war that led to the creation of Israel.
Roland Friedrich, UNRWA director for the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, told Israeli outlet Haaretz that the demolitions began at 7am. Later in the morning, right-wing Israeli officials, politicians and activists arrived at the site, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
“For years, these terror supporters were here, and today these terror supporters are expelled from here with everything they built here,” Mr Ben-Gvir posted on X, alongside a video of him in front of a bulldozer destroying a building in the compound.
Outside the gates of the compound, situated in East Jerusalem’s Ammunition Hill near the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, right-wing agitators with their faces covered shouted slogans in favour of the destruction and calling UNRWA a terrorist organisation over TV reports being made by a handful of Palestinian journalists, some of whom challenged the Israelis, leading to tense exchanges.
The sound of pneumatic drills and crashing rubble in the compound mixed with the noise of construction for a new tram line nearby. Despite being separated by two security fences, the destruction at the site was easily visible from the road. One Israeli man, filming the demolition on his phone, cried out, “Blessed is God!"
In a later post on X, Mr Lazzarini said: "A lost moral compass opens a barbaric new era: after Israeli officials compete to take credit for the storming and destruction of a United Nations compound in occupied East Jerusalem, others call for the annihilation of an entire community of UNRWA staff."
A UNRWA representative told The National that it was unclear what had been demolished inside the compound.
"Since the end of January 2025 when Israeli legislation forced us to evacuate the compound under protest and pivot our operations to other locations, the only presence at the site has been our security company," the representative said.
In late 2024, UNRWA was banned from operating in territory under Israeli control, a decision that was widely criticised in the international community, including by many of Israel’s close allies, as the agency is considered essential to supporting Palestinians and dealing with the humanitarian catastrophe of the Gaza war.
UNRWA has long been under attack from Israel, which accuses it of tolerating anti-Semitic content in the curriculum of its schools, of being closely linked to the Palestinian militant group Hamas, and of perpetuating the refugee status of Palestinians – something that many Israelis say makes ending the Israel-Palestine conflict more difficult.
There has been even more hostility since October 7, which has also been directed at other UN agencies, NGOs and humanitarian agencies working with Palestinians, particularly in Gaza. Israel has accused UNRWA staff members of taking part in the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks and the army says it has uncovered Hamas weapons and tunnel entrances at UNRWA facilities in Gaza, including schools.
UNRWA has responded to these accusations saying: “Since the mid-2000s, during conflicts in Gaza, there have been instances when armed actors from both sides have violated the neutrality of UNRWA sites, which are protected by international law.
“They have, for example, entered UNRWA buildings or used them for military purposes. UNRWA has systematically condemned such violations of UN premises.”
