Condemnation as Israel raids UNRWA HQ in East Jerusalem, removes UN flag

The agency’s commissioner-general condemns raid arsenic a nonstop usurpation of planetary law.

Israeli forces person raided the office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) successful occupied East Jerusalem, seizing items and replacing the UN emblem with Israel’s flag.

In a connection connected X, the agency’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, said Israeli police, accompanied by municipal officials, forcibly entered its compound successful Sheikh Jarrah aboriginal connected Monday morning.

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“Police motorcycles, arsenic good arsenic trucks and forklifts, were brought successful and each communications were cut. Furniture, IT instrumentality and different spot was seized,” helium said. “The UN emblem was pulled down and replaced with an Israeli flag.”

UNRWA has not utilized the gathering since the opening of the twelvemonth aft Israeli authorities ordered the bureau to vacate each of its premises and halt operations wrong Israel.

Lazzarini said this follows “months of harassment that included arson attacks successful 2024, hateful demonstrations and intimidation, supported by a large-scale disinformation campaign, arsenic good arsenic anti-UNRWA authorities passed by the Israeli parliament successful breach of its planetary obligations”.

Israel barred UNRWA from operating connected its ungraded aft claiming immoderate employees had participated successful the Hamas-led onslaught connected confederate Israel connected October 7, 2023. UNRWA denied the allegations, portion successful October the International Court of Justice (ICJ) recovered that Israel’s allegations against UNRWA were unsubstantiated.

Still, Israel’s claims prompted the United States, historically UNRWA’s largest donor, to suspend funding.

UNRWA was forced to repatriate its planetary unit from Gaza and the occupied West Bank, severely limiting assistance organisation astatine a clip erstwhile Palestinians are facing utmost shortages of nutrient and structure amid Israel’s genocidal warfare connected the Gaza Strip.

In October, the ICJ issued an advisory sentiment reaffirming Israel’s ineligible work to enactment UN alleviation efforts successful Gaza, including those carried retired by UNRWA, and to cooperate with UN agencies operating successful the occupied territories.

‘A unsafe precedent’

Lazzarini condemned the latest onslaught connected UNRWA arsenic a nonstop usurpation of planetary law, saying it showed “a blatant disregard of Israel’s work arsenic a United Nations Member State to support & respect the inviolability of UN premises”.

While Israel has attempted to portion the compound of its UN status, Lazzarini said its actions person nary ineligible effect.

“However, immoderate enactment taken domestically, the compound retains its presumption arsenic a UN premises, immune from immoderate signifier of interference,” helium said, adding that Israel is simply a signatory to the Convention connected the Privileges and Immunities of the UN.

UNRWA is the largest humanitarian organisation operating successful Gaza and the West Bank, and besides provides schooling, healthcare, societal services and structure to millions of Palestinian refugees crossed the Middle East.

For Palestinians, the agency’s beingness is tied to their internationally recognised close of instrumentality to homes from which they oregon their families were expelled during the instauration of Israel successful 1948.

The raid comes amid Israel’s continued genocidal warfare connected Gaza. According to wellness officials successful Gaza, the full fig of radical killed successful Israeli attacks stands astatine at slightest 70,365, with 171,058 others wounded.