Israeli forces raid UNRWA headquarters in al-Quds after UN extends mandate

Israeli forces stormed the sealed headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East al-Quds, raiding the long-standing compound in Sheikh Jarrah just days after the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly renewed the agency’s mandate.

In a statement on Monday, the al-Quds Governorate, affiliated with the Palestinian Authority (PA), said Israeli police entered the compound, detained its security guards, and confiscated their phones.

“Israeli police cut off communication, making it impossible to know what is happening inside the compound,” the statement said.

Officials added that the raid was carried out “alongside a complete closure of the surrounding area and extensive searches across all facilities of the building.”

The compound, used as an UNRWA office since 1951, had been vacated earlier this year following a decision by Israel.

The raid came two days after the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution renewing UNRWA’s mandate for three more years, with 151 countries voting in favor, 10 opposed, and 14 abstaining.

“This raid represents a direct challenge to the UN General Assembly’s overwhelming vote days ago to renew UNRWA’s mandate,” the governorate said, calling for urgent international action to hold Israel accountable “for violating international law” and to prosecute Israeli authorities “for crimes and abuses committed against the Palestinian people and their national and international institutions.”

Meanwhile, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini condemned the Israeli raid on the agency compound as a "dangerous precedent."

“This latest action represents a blatant disregard of Israel’s obligation as a United Nations Member State to protect & respect the inviolability of UN premises,” Lazzarini wrote on X.

“To allow this represents a new challenge to international law, one that creates a dangerous precedent anywhere else the UN is present across the world,” he added.

ICJ rules Israel must give humanitarian aid access to Gaza

The ruling came as aid agencies struggle to expand relief operations under a fragile cease-fire agreed earlier this month.

Israel has banned UNRWA from operating in the occupied territories after accusing some of its staff of being involved in the al-Aqsa storm operation in October 2023.

Despite repeated requests from UNRWA for the Israeli regime to provide evidence supporting its allegations, the agency has received no response.

The UN agency has faced deepening financial turmoil since Israel launched a defamation campaign against it.

Following Israel’s accusations, several major donor states, including the United States, suspended or froze funding, triggering one of the most severe financial crises in UNRWA’s history.

In October, International Court of Justice (ICJ) President Yuji Iwasawa underscored in a ruling that Israel must “agree to and facilitate relief schemes provided by the United Nations and its entities,” including UNRWA.

As part of its findings, the ICJ noted that Israel had failed to present evidence showing that UNRWA was working with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, as the regime had claimed.

UNRWA was established by the UNGA more than 70 years ago to assist Palestinians forcibly displaced from their land due to the creation of the Israeli occupation.

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