The keys
nuevo
Generated with AI
nuevo
Generated with AI
Several Israeli excavators They began demolishing this Tuesday the complex of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) located in the occupied East Jerusalemafter Israel vetoed its activity in its territory a year ago and recently removed immunity from its properties in an unprecedented decision.
UNRWA spokesperson, Jonathan Fowler, has informed Efe that “shortly after seven in the morning today, Israeli forces stormed the UN compound in East Jerusalem, “They forced the security guards to leave the premises and confiscated their devices.”
“This is an unprecedented attack. I want to emphasize that this complex It is a headquarters of the United Nations”Fowler added about the UNRWA headquarters, located in the Sheikh Jarrá neighborhood and which had been empty for months due to the Israeli veto of its activities.
BREAKING:
Israel starts the demolition of UNRWA’s HQ in Jerusalem.
This comes after Israel passed a law banning UNRWA for being a Hamas tool. pic.twitter.com/bU6I659Ofu
— Visegrad 24 (@visegrad24) January 20, 2026
Efe has witnessed at the scene the destruction caused to some of the UNRWA facilities and a large presence of Israeli security forces, which They have cordoned off the area and prevent access to the press to the complex.
“The State of Israel owns the (UNRWA) compound in Jerusalem where currently operates the Israel Lands Authority,” For its part, the Israeli Foreign Ministry stated in a statement justifying the destruction of the organization’s properties, which was declared illegal by Israel through a law that came into force in January 2025.
Expropriation and cutting of supplies
On December 30, the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) approved a reform of said law in which, in an unprecedented decision that conflicts with international law, stripped this organization of its immunitywhile decreeing the expropriation of its premises in East Jerusalem and cutting off its supplies.
“The complex does not enjoy any immunity and its confiscation by the Israeli authorities was carried out in accordance with Israeli and international law,” the Foreign Affairs note continues in reference to the Israeli legal reform lifting immunity.
This reform decreed the expropriation within 30 days of the UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem and the Qalandia Training Center, which trains young people and is also located in East Jerusalem, near the military post that separates it from the West Bank capital, Ramallah.
The reform was condemned at the time for contrary to international lawsince supposedly no member state of the UN can unilaterally exclude from a convention it has signed – in this case the one on immunities and privileges of the UN – one of the United Nations bodies.
Foreign Affairs reiterates in its statement this Tuesday the reasons it gave for decreeing the illegalization of UNRWA, stating that its employees “they participated in the October 7 massacre and in the kidnapping of Israelis.”
“Numerous employees of the organization are Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, and its infrastructure has been used for the construction of tunnels, rocket launches and terrorist activities,” says Foreign Affairs.
In October 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded that Israel has not proven the links it alleges between UNRWA and Hamas, nor the organization’s alleged lack of neutrality, and ordered it to “ensure the basic needs” of the civilian population in Gaza.