Israel demolishes buildings in UN Palestinian agency’s East Jerusalem compound

By Pesha Magid

JERUSALEM, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Israel demolished structures inside the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency’s East Jerusalem compound on Tuesday after seizing the site last year, in an act condemned by the agency as a violation of international law. 

Surrounded by Israeli forces, bulldozers razed several large buildings and other smaller structures inside the United Nations Relief and Works Agency compound, where dozens of agency staff once worked. 

UNRWA, which Israeli authorities accuse of bias, has not used the building since the start of last year after Israel ordered it to vacate all its premises and cease its operations.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Israel’s action on Tuesday. “The Secretary-General urges the government of Israel to immediately cease the demolition of the UNRWA Sheikh Jarrah compound, and to return and restore the compound and other UNRWA premises to the United Nations without delay,” deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters. 

‘UNPRECEDENTED ATTACK’

A spokesperson for UNRWA, Jonathan Fowler, said Israeli forces entered the compound around 7 a.m. (0500 GMT), forced out the compound’s security guards and then brought in bulldozers to begin demolishing buildings inside. 

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini condemned the demolition in a statement on X, calling it “a new level of open and deliberate defiance of international law”.

He said it was the latest in a series of Israeli actions against UNRWA, including a raid on a medical clinic this month and a plan to cut power and water to UNRWA facilities in the coming weeks.

Some former UNRWA staff said the structures demolished on Tuesday had been used to store aid for the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. 

“The destruction today by the Israeli occupation is another message to the world that Israel is the only country that can demolish international law and get away with it,” said Hakam Shahwan, former UNRWA chief of staff in East Jerusalem.

Israel’s parliament passed a law in October 2024 banning the agency from operating in the country and prohibiting officials from having contact with the agency.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video on social media standing in front of the UNRWA compound as a bulldozer began to tear it down. 

“This is a historic day, it’s a holiday,” said Ben-Gvir. 

ISRAEL ACCUSES UNRWA OF BIAS 

Israel has alleged that some UNRWA staff were members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas and took part in the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed about 1,200 Israelis and led to Israel’s war against Hamas, in which Gaza authorities say more than 71,000 Palestinians have been killed.

UNRWA has fired several staff members but said Israel had not provided evidence for all the allegations against its staff. 

In his statement, Lazzarini said that Israel had conducted “a large-scale disinformation campaign” against UNRWA.

The Israeli foreign ministry said “the seizure of this compound by Israeli authorities was carried out in accordance with both Israeli and international law”.

Israel’s Jerusalem municipality raided the compound last year, saying UNRWA had failed to pay property taxes after multiple warnings. UNRWA said the agency had no debts to the municipality.    

The agency operates in East Jerusalem, which the U.N. and most countries consider territory occupied by Israel as it was captured from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel considers all Jerusalem to be its indivisible capital.

UNRWA also operates in Gaza, the West Bank and elsewhere in the Middle East, providing schooling, healthcare, social services and shelter to millions of Palestinians.

(Reporting by Pesha Magid and Rami Ayyub; additional reporting by Omri Taasan and Emma Farge; editing by Ros Russell and Mark Heinrich)