Israel ignores UN threats, demolishes UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem

Ignoring demands by the UN secretary-general to return UNRWA properties in Jerusalem and threats to take Israel to court, authorities demolish UNRWA’s Jerusalem headquarters.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Israeli authorities on Tuesday demolished the Jerusalem headquarters of the United Nations’ Palestinian relief agency, following two years of legislative efforts to shutter the agency’s operations in the Jewish state amid revelations regarding its links to Gaza terror groups.

Security personnel escorted an engineering team from the Israel Lands Authority to a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) compound in the Ammunition Hill neighborhood of Jerusalem near Ma’alot Dafna, where crews used heavy equipment to demolish the site.

The facility had served as the regional headquarters for UNRWA operations in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. The site was also the primary logistical center for the UN agency in Jerusalem and the surrounding area.

Opposition MK Yulia Malinovsky (Yisrael Beytenu), who pushed legislation targeting UNRWA, was on the scene to observe the demolition Tuesday morning.

“Blessed are we, who have lived, endured, and reached this moment! UNRWA’s terror headquarters at Ammunition Hill was evacuated this morning and is at this very moment being demolished ahead of the State of Israel’s entry into the area,” Malinovsky said.

“This is happening as a result of the laws I initiated to expel UNRWA from Israel. And redemption has come to Zion!”

Less than two weeks ago, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded that Israel return UNRWA property in Jerusalem that had been seized by the state and the repeal of laws banning the provision of basic utilities to UNRWA sites and outlawing the agency in Israel.

Earlier this month, Israeli authorities evicted UNRWA officials from a facility in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, weeks after the Knesset voted in December to bar utility companies from providing water or electricity to UNRWA sites.

Since 2024, Israel has passed legislation targeting UNRWA, after Israel found that the agency had employed Gazans with close ties to terror groups including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, along with evidence showing use of UNRWA facilities in Gaza by terror organizations.