Israel has commenced demolishing the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem, prompting international condemnation and accusations of violating UN privileges. The action follows legislation banning the agency’s operations within territories under Israeli control.
Police forces and enforcement officers from the Israel Land Authority arrived at the compound around 7am Tuesday with bulldozers and heavy engineering equipment, according to footage verified by multiple news agencies. Israeli authorities forced out private security guards protecting the facility before beginning demolition work on buildings inside the Ma’alot Dafna compound.
UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini strongly condemned the move, calling it an unprecedented attack against a United Nations agency and its premises. In a statement posted on X, he described the demolition as a new level of open and deliberate defiance of international law, including violations of privileges and immunities granted to the United Nations.
The UN Convention on Privileges and Immunities, which Israel joined in 1949, designates UN facilities as inviolable and immune from search, confiscation, expropriation, or other forms of interference. East Jerusalem was captured by Israel from Jordan during the 1967 war and later annexed in 1980. While Israel considers the entire city its eternal capital, international law and most of the global community regard East Jerusalem as occupied territory, with Palestinians claiming it as the capital of a future independent state.
Israel’s foreign ministry defended the demolition, stating the government owns the land and arguing that UNRWA had already ceased operations at the site, with no UN staff or activities remaining there. The ministry said the compound no longer enjoyed immunity and claimed the seizure was conducted in accordance with Israeli and international law, describing UNRWA as a greenhouse for terrorism.
Israel has long accused UNRWA of aiding Hamas and intensified its campaign against the agency following the October 7, 2023 Hamas led attack. Israeli officials have cited alleged involvement of some UNRWA employees and claimed the agency’s facilities in Gaza were used for attacks and to conceal hostages. UNRWA has vehemently denied these allegations and said it fired nine employees after uncovering evidence of involvement in the October 2023 attack.
In late 2024, Israel’s parliament passed legislation banning UNRWA operations in the country and cutting official ties with the agency. Additional laws passed in December 2025 prohibited the provision of water and electricity to UNRWA properties and allowed the state to reclaim land from its compounds in East Jerusalem. Another UNRWA site in the Kfar Aqab area is expected to face similar action in the near future.
Far right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the demolition site Tuesday, calling it a historic day and describing the move as a restoration of governance in Jerusalem. He posted on social media that authorities removed supporters of terror along with everything they built at the location.
The demolition drew swift condemnation from the United Nations. Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged Israel to immediately halt the destruction and restore the UNRWA compound and other agency premises to the United Nations without delay. In a January 8 letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Guterres warned that the UN cannot remain indifferent to actions taken by Israel in direct contravention of its obligations under international law.
The Ramallah based Palestinian Authority also denounced the move, calling it a serious breach of all rules and norms of international law. The authority urged the UN and its member states to intervene to stop the demolitions, warning of the gravity of this deliberate escalation against UNRWA.
Roland Friedrich, UNRWA’s West Bank director, said the agency received word that demolition crews arrived early Tuesday morning. He described the event as the culmination of two years of incitement and measures against UNRWA in East Jerusalem. Staff have not operated out of the facility since January 2025 due to safety concerns after Israeli legislation forced evacuation.
Later on Tuesday, Israeli forces fired tear gas at a Palestinian trade school run by UNRWA in East Jerusalem, marking a second targeting of UN facilities on the same day. Local sources reported that a 15 year old was hit in the eye with a rubber bullet and some children were overcome by tear gas on their way home from the vocational school, which provides job training in technology and welding to more than 300 young refugees.
The International Court of Justice ruled in October 2024 that Israel must allow UNRWA to provide humanitarian assistance in Gaza. The court also stressed that Israel has no jurisdiction over East Jerusalem. UNRWA provides aid and services to approximately 2.5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as 3 million more refugees in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
Lazzarini warned that what happens to UNRWA today could happen tomorrow to any other international organization or diplomatic mission, whether in the Occupied Palestinian Territory or anywhere around the world. He said international law has come under increasing attack for too long and risks irrelevancy in the absence of response by member states.
