Israeli demolishes buildings in former UNRWA compound
The site was seized by the Israeli government last year following the passing of a law banning the UN agency from operating in the country
The Israeli government has demolished buildings in the compound formerly occupied by UNRWA in East Jerusalem, with the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs making it clear that the UN agency was no longer operating at the site.
After a law was passed last October barring the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants from operating in Israel, the government officially seized the UNRWA compound in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. Following the start of the demolition work this morning, the Israeli MFA released a statement saying that “UNRWA-Hamas had already ceased its operations at this site and no longer had any UN personnel or UN activity there. 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.”
The association between UNRWA and Hamas in the statement follows the accusations from Israel that the agency in Gaza was deeply infiltrated by Hamas, with numerous documents seized in Gaza by the IDF appearing to show that a number of UNRWA employees were Hamas members.
Phillipe Lazarrini, the Commissioner General of UNRWA, described the demolitions as “a new level of open & deliberate defiance of international law, including of the privileges & immunities of the United Nations, by the State of Israel.
“Early this morning, Israeli forces stormed the UNRWA Headquarters, a United Nations site, in East Jerusalem. Bulldozers entered the compound and began demolishing buildings inside it under the watch of lawmakers and a member of the government.”
Lazzarini also said that last week “Israeli forces stormed into an UNRWA health centre in East Jerusalem & ordered it to close”. He claimed that “water and power supplies to UNRWA facilities – including health & education buildings – are also scheduled to be cut in the coming weeks.”
The “member of the government” Lazzarini mentioned appears to have been Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right National Security Minister. In a statement, Ben Gvir described it as “an important day for sovereignty in Jerusalem. Today these terror supporters are being kicked out of here with everything they’ve built. This is what will be done to every terror supporter.”
The Israeli MFA made it clear in its statement that “the state of Israel owns the Jerusalem compound. Today’s move does not constitute a new policy, but rather the implementation of existing Israeli legislation concerning UNRWA-Hamas.”
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