Israeli authorities carried out a forceful operation at the UNRWA headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, seizing property and replacing the United Nations flag with Israel’s flag, according to the agency’s chief, Philippe Lazzarini.
Posting on X, Lazzarini reported that Israeli police and Jerusalem municipal officials “forcibly” entered the compound with “trucks and forklifts.” He said that during the raid, “All communications were cut. Furniture, IT (Information Technology) equipment, and other property were seized.”
In a statement to CNN, Israeli police said the action “was carried out by the Jerusalem Municipality as part of a debt-collection procedure,” noting officers were present “to secure the municipality’s personnel.”
The Jerusalem Municipality further defended the move as “a standard procedure against those who don’t pay property tax and ignore repeated reminders,” citing a long-standing unpaid debt of around 11 million shekels ($3.4 million).
But this claim was disputed in New York. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, insisted that such taxes do not apply to the UN, saying, “It is not applicable under the general conventions that govern the relationship between the United Nations and member states.”
Condemning the operation, UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated, “This compound remains United Nations on premises and is inviolable and immune from any other form of interference,” reminding Israel of its obligations under the UN Charter and international law.
Israel’s bitter dispute with UNRWA is longstanding. Critics within the Israeli government accuse the agency of supporting Hamas and argue it should be shut down, an allegation the organization strongly rejects.
Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian reiterated that stance, declaring, “UNRWA has proven its enormous failures, and it’s time for it to be dismantled.”
These tensions trace back long before the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Israeli officials have repeatedly objected to UNRWA’s work in Gaza, the West Bank, and beyond, as well as its refugee designation criteria for Palestinians.
By late 2024, the Israeli parliament had passed laws banning the agency’s operations within Israel and restricting official contact with it.
Despite mounting political pressure, UNRWA remains essential to millions of Palestinians, providing education to 500,000 children, employing 3,000 healthcare workers, and supporting food relief for nearly 2 million people.
