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UN turns to Supreme Court to overturn law barring UNRWA from Israel

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UNRWA petitions Israel’s Supreme Court, demanding the court halt planned demolitions and overturn a law passed by the Knesset barring the agency’s operations in Israel.

By World Israel News Staff

The United Nations relief agency UNRWA has petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court to halt the demolition of UNRWA facilities in Jerusalem and to overturn a law passed by the Knesset that targeting the agency over its ties to Gaza terror groups including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

On Tuesday, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel filed an urgent petition with the Supreme Court, seeking an interim injunction freezing planned demolitions of UNRWA facilities in Jerusalem, and barring the implementation of a law outlawing the provision of utilities – including water and electricity – to UNRWA sites.

UNRWA has already challenged the Israeli law, passed last month, with an appeal to the Supreme Court.

However, the hearing on the law will not take place until February 2.

Israel previously banned UNRWA from operating in the country, including the capital, Jerusalem.

Until now, bureaucratic red tape has hampered the eviction of UNRWA from facilities across the city for more than a year.

Read  On his way out, UNRWA chief faces calls for criminal probe into Hamas infiltration

On Tuesday, the Israel Land Authority, in conjunction with Jerusalem district police, carried out a major demolition operation, seizing control of UNRWA’s regional headquarters, located in Jerusalem’s Ammunition Hill neighborhood, tearing down buildings and paving the way for the compound to be repurposed for a housing project.

Hours after the demolition, Adalah filed the emergency request for a Supreme Court injunction, after city officials signaled their intention to seize UNRWA property in Kafr Aqab, a village located partially within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem.

The city has requested that the IDF provide forces to secure the operation.

The Supreme Court has given the state one day to respond to the request for an emergency injunction.

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