Israeli forces raided the headquarters of UNRWA in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, seizing property and replacing the UN flag with that of Israel. Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said on X that Israeli police and municipal officials forcibly entered the Sheikh Jarrah compound early in the day.
He reported that trucks, forklifts and police motorcycles were brought in, and all communications were cut during the operation. Furniture, IT equipment and other items were taken, and the UN flag was removed and replaced.
The building had been unused by the agency since Israeli authorities ordered UNRWA to vacate all premises and halt operations inside Israel earlier this year.
Lazzarini said the raid followed months of harassment, including arson attacks, hostile demonstrations and anti-UNRWA legislation passed by the Knesset.
Israel previously barred UNRWA after alleging some staff took part in the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, a claim the International Court of Justice later said was unsubstantiated. However, Israel’s totally unsubstantiated accusations led the United States, UNRWA’s largest donor, to suspend its funding alongside other countries.
Lazzarini condemned the raid as a violation of international law, stressing that the site remains protected UN property under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN. The incident occurred as Israel’s war on Gaza continues, with health officials reporting more than 70,000 Palestinians killed and over 171,000 wounded.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, briefs reporters after the high-Level Ministerial Meeting in Support of the Agency, New York, 25 September 2025 © UN Photo/Manuel Elías
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