In a brazen violation of international law, Israeli police and municipal officials forcibly raided the East Jerusalem headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) early Monday. The aggressive incursion, involving motorcycles, trucks, and forklifts, saw communications severed, property seized, and the symbolic tearing down of the UN flag to be replaced with an Israeli flag. UN officials condemned the act as a "blatant disregard" of Israel's obligations and a "dangerous precedent" for UN operations worldwide.
Israeli authorities claimed the raid was a "debt-collection procedure" for unpaid municipal taxes. However, this justification was immediately dismissed as illegitimate under international law. The UN Charter explicitly grants UN premises inviolability and immunity from such legal processes and local taxes. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stated that whatever domestic actions Israel takes, the compound "retains its status as a UN premises, immune from any form of interference".
This raid is not an isolated incident but a calculated escalation in Israel's long-running campaign to dismantle UNRWA, the primary provider of education, healthcare, and aid to millions of Palestinian refugees across the region. Since January, Israel has banned the agency from operating on its territory, basing its decision on unsubstantiated claims of Hamas infiltration that were later rejected by the International Court of Justice. The East Jerusalem compound has been vacant since Israeli authorities ordered it closed, following months of harassment that included arson attacks and hate demonstrations.
For Palestinians, UNRWA is more than an aid agency; its existence is intrinsically tied to their internationally recognized Right of Return, a right Israel has sought to erase for decades. By attacking and seeking to destroy UNRWA, Israel aims to strip Palestinians of both vital humanitarian support and their historical claim to justice. The raid in Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood emblematic of Israel's displacement of Palestinians is a direct assault on these rights and a further attempt to consolidate control over occupied East Jerusalem.
The international community, including UN Secretary-General António Guterres, has strongly condemned the raid. Meanwhile, the action on the ground was starkly confrontational. Security guards employed by the UN reported being detained in a room and having their phones confiscated by the raiding forces, who cut chains and locks to gain entry. This aggression occurs as Palestinians in Gaza face a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with over 70,000 killed in what has been described as a genocidal war. By violently targeting a cornerstone of the humanitarian response, Israel demonstrates a clear intent to continue its assault on Palestinian life with impunity.