Israeli Forces Demolish UNRWA Jerusalem Headquarters, Draw International Condemnation.

Photo by Taylor Brandon on Unsplash.com

Israeli authorities have demolished the compounds of the UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem. The UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East; its mandate concerns providing humanitarian aid and relief for Palestinians in the occupied territories of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and to refugees in neighbouring countries.

For years, the agency has been the target of a financial campaign by the US under the Trump presidency, which cut its funding in 2018 and then again in 2024. Even harsher is its targeting by Israel, which accuses it of being involved, through both its employees and the use of its Gaza facilities, in attacks on Israel and the hiding of Israeli hostages - a charge that the agency rejects. For these reasons, Israel has been undermining its activity in the occupied territories: in late 2024, it passed a law banning UNRWA operations in Israel and severing official ties with it; in late 2025, it gave the green light for the reclaiming of land from the agency’s quarters in East Jerusalem.

This ban on UNRWA came alongside a broader crackdown on agencies providing humanitarian aid within the occupied territories, as Israel revoked the operating licenses of 37 agencies, including Care International and Doctors Without Borders, which allegedly failed to meet the ever more stringent standards of reporting on their staff, funding and operations.

Before the demolition, on the 14th of January, Israeli forces ordered the closing of a UNRWA health centre in East Jerusalem. The UNRWA quarters, on the other hand, had been mostly vacant until that point because of security threats. The demolition happened on the 20th of January, when police forces and enforcement officers from the Israel Land Authority reached the compound with bulldozers and started demolishing the facility and confiscating equipment. They then hoisted the Israeli flag above the compound. The National Security Minister Ben-Gvir, alongside some other Israeli politicians, was seen at the scene supervising the demolition, reiterating accusations against the UNRWA and joining celebrations for the event. Some days later, it was reported that the targeted facility had even been set on fire. Moreover, other reports talk about teargas being fired at a UN vocational school in Qalandia, West Bank.

Palestinians regard the demolition as a “calculated attempt to erase the political rights of refugees”. The Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative party, Mustafa Barghouti, identifies political, existential and territorial strategic goals behind the attack, seen as a further blow to the resilience of Palestinians.

Condemnation by the international community has been steadfast. Various prominent figures of the UN, including the Secretary General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned the demolition and urged Israel to remedy. UNRWA figures, like its Commissioner General, accused Israel of violating international law which guarantees protection and immunity for UN facilities. Israel opposed the justification that, with UNRWA having ceased its operations at the compound, the latter did not enjoy immunity anymore; UNRWA, however, rejected this justification.

written by Alessia Milillo