Israel Initiates Demolition of UNRWA Headquarters in East Jerusalem

UNRWA spokesman Jonathan Fowler said in a statement to AFP that Israeli forces "stormed into" the compound shortly after 7 am (0500 GMT) and ejected security guards from the site, before bulldozers entered and began demolishing buildings.

"This is an unprecedented attack against UNRWA and its premises. And it also constitutes a serious violation of international law and the privileges and immunities of the United Nations," Fowler said.

"What happens today to UNRWA can happen tomorrow to any other international organisation or diplomatic mission around the world, he added.

Roland Friedrich, the agency's director in the West Bank called the move political, telling AFP "it seems the intent is to seize the land for settlement construction as has openly been stated by Israeli officials for many years in the media and elsewhere".

AFP photos showed heavy machinery demolishing structures at the compound, where an Israeli flag fluttered overhead.

An AFP photographer reported that far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had made a brief visit to the site.

"This is a historic day, a day of celebration and a very important day for governance in Jerusalem," Ben Gvir was quoted as saying in a statement.

"For years, these supporters of terrorism were here, and today they are being removed from here along with everything they built in this place. This is what will happen to every supporter of terrorism," he added.

Israel has repeatedly accused UNRWA of providing cover for Hamas militants, claiming that some of its employees took part in the group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.

A series of investigations, including one led by France's former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some "neutrality-related issues" at UNRWA but stressed Israel had not provided conclusive evidence for its headline allegation.

In a statement, the Israeli foreign ministry defended the demolitions and said "the State of Israel owns the Jerusalem compound".

The compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem has been empty of UNRWA staff since January 2025, when a law banning its operations took effect after a months-long battle over its work in the Gaza Strip.

"UNRWA-Hamas had already ceased its operations at this site and no longer had any UN personnel or UN activity there," the foreign ministry said.

"The compound does not enjoy any immunity and the seizure of this compound by Israeli authorities was carried out in accordance with both Israeli and international law," it said.

UNRWA's Friedrich said the UN rejected the Israeli claim and insisted that the compound "remains United Nations property and is protected by the privileges and immunities of the UN, regardless of whether it is currently in use".

Though the UNRWA ban applies in east Jerusalem due to its annexation by Israel, the agency still operates in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini also denounced the demolitions on X, saying it was yet another attempt by "Israeli authorities to erase the Palestine Refugee identity".

As the UN agency created specifically for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced from their homes during the creation of Israel in 1948, UNRWA provides refugee status registration, as well as health and education services for Palestinian refugees.

Along with refugee status, which is passed on through generations, comes the right of return, which Israel contests, and is one of the most contentious issues for a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Months after the war in Gaza began in October 2023, Israeli authorities declared Guterres and Lazzarini personae non gratae in Israel.

Jordan's foreign affairs ministry "strongly condemned" the demolition, calling it "a blatant violation of international law".

The UNRWA compound was a prison during the time of the Ottoman Empire, and later became property of the Jordanian government, which subsequently transferred it to UNRWA.