Palestinian Territory – The demolition by Israeli authorities of the facilities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem constitutes a serious violation of Israel's obligations as an occupying power. It reflects a deliberate policy to undermine the United Nations, reduce its presence and role in the city, and impose new on-the-ground and administrative realities that entrench Israeli control and further restrict the rights of Palestinian residents.
Earlier today, Israeli forces, accompanied by bulldozers, raided the UNRWA headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem, and began demolishing structures inside the compound, in the presence and under the supervision of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
In an explicit expression of political support for the destruction and undermining of a UN organisation, Itamar Ben-Gvir described the events as "a historic day, a day of celebration, and a day of great importance for governing Jerusalem for many years to come." He added, "These supporters of terrorism were here, and today they are being expelled from here along with everything they built. This is what will happen to anyone who supports terrorism."
The demolition and accompanying statements constitute a deliberate attempt to recast UNRWA from a UN agency protected by international immunity into an 'enemy' stripped of legitimacy through accusations of terrorism
The demolition and accompanying statements constitute a deliberate attempt to recast UNRWA from a UN agency protected by international immunity into an 'enemy' stripped of legitimacy through accusations of terrorism. This paves the way for normalising attacks against the agency and any independent international presence, while testing the limits of international deterrence and seeking to establish a precedent that UN immunity can be violated without consequence.
In Jerusalem, the act carries an explicit assertion of sovereignty aimed at entrenching de facto annexation by eliminating any UN presence that reminds the world of the city's status as occupied territory and of the refugee issue and their rights. At the same time, phrases such as "historic day" and "this is what will happen to anyone who supports terrorism" serve as messages of intimidation to international and human rights organisations that might document violations or challenge this trajectory, while also mobilising domestic support to entrench hostility towards the United Nations, its agencies, and all international organisations under explicit political cover.
The demolition of the UNRWA headquarters is inseparable from the purpose it serves, representing an initial step to clear the site for a large-scale settlement project as part of a systematic policy to depopulate East Jerusalem of Palestinians and forcibly impose a new demographic reality. These practices fall within patterns of forcible transfer and demographic change prohibited under international humanitarian law, particularly in light of Israeli plans to construct 1,440 settlement units on the site of the UN facility, near the Giv'at HaMatos settlement.
Labelling UNRWA staff and facilities as terrorist entities constitutes hate speech intended to strip humanitarian work of its legitimacy and condition public opinion to justify further grave violations, as part of a broader campaign of incitement and deliberate criminalisation of international organisations operating in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem.
The act forms part of a gradual and sustained escalation in recent days against UNRWA facilities in East Jerusalem. Days earlier, Israeli forces raided a UNRWA health centre and ordered its closure for 30 days. This sequence reflects a deliberate effort to constrict the work of a UN agency and eliminate its field presence, in direct defiance of the occupying power's obligations under international law and the legal status of the United Nations and its agencies.
The escalation included the Knesset's passage in October 2024 of two laws banning UNRWA operations and prohibiting official contact with it, as well as the Israeli government's decision in December 2025 to cut off water and electricity to all its premises and declare its activities illegal.
This occurs at a time when UNRWA is largely unable to carry out its mandate in the occupied Palestinian territory due to new Israeli laws and measures, particularly those restricting humanitarian aid, education, healthcare, and other essential services that constitute a lifeline for millions of Palestinian refugees, half of whom are children. This systematic obstruction deprives them of their basic rights and undermines the conditions necessary for their survival, especially in the Gaza Strip, where millions of Palestinians, most of them refugees, face an imminent threat to their lives due to policies of starvation, denial of medical care, and obstruction of life-saving materials, alongside ongoing killing, injury, targeting, and severe suffering.
Israel's insistence on legalising its successive measures against UNRWA over recent years amounts to a declaration of war on the refugee community, one of the most vulnerable groups in Palestinian society. This comes as Israel continues to prevent refugees from returning to their homes and lands from which they were forcibly displaced, while their living conditions have deteriorated dramatically across all aspects due to the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip for more than two years, and its military operations and comprehensive restrictions in the West Bank.
Israeli forces have killed multiple UNRWA staff and destroyed or bombarded hundreds of the agency's facilities and schools in the Gaza Strip, exposing a grave failure of the global order, led by the United Nations, which has been unable to safeguard even its own agencies, sites, or resolutions.
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor stresses that these measures constitute a flagrant violation of Israel's obligations as an occupying power and reveal an integrated policy aimed at preventing UNRWA from fulfilling its mandate and forcibly pushing it out of the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, as a prelude to reengineering the demographic and institutional reality of the occupied city.
The destruction of UNRWA's headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem constitutes a clear violation of international law and the UN Charter. The application of Israeli law in this context also breaches Israel's obligations as an occupying power, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its most recent advisory opinion on the illegality of Israel's presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.
Euro-Med Monitor asserts that the demolition of UNRWA facilities, the raid on its headquarters, and the closure of its facilities in East Jerusalem directly contradict the ICJ advisory opinion issued on 22 October 2025. The Court confirmed that Israel, as an occupying power and UN member state, is obligated to cooperate in good faith with the United Nations, ensure full respect for its privileges, immunities, property, and staff, and facilitate the work of UN agencies, including UNRWA, rather than obstruct, prevent, or undermine it.
Accordingly, the demolition, closures, and political supervision imposed on UNRWA constitute direct obstruction of a UN mandate and an infringement of the protection of international property, in clear contradiction of the duty to facilitate operations in the occupied territory, including East Jerusalem.
Israeli actions directly violate the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, particularly Article 2, which affirms that the UN and its property enjoy complete immunity from legal process and that its premises are inviolable, with any search, seizure, confiscation, expropriation, or other coercive measure strictly prohibited.
The International Court of Justice clearly affirmed that any executive, administrative, or legislative measure targeting UN property and assets is legally prohibited, and that the application of Israeli law in East Jerusalem is unlawful, reiterating in October 2025 Israel's obligation to facilitate UNRWA's work and ensure its humanitarian access.
Euro-Med Monitor recalls statements by the UNRWA Commissioner-General that the agency has been subjected to months of organised Israeli harassment, including deliberate arson attacks in 2024, systematic media incitement, hostile legislation, a raid on the same headquarters around a month ago, and the lowering of the UN flag and raising the Israeli flag instead. These practices reflect a hostile environment aimed at forcibly breaching UN immunity.
The international community, particularly the United Nations, must take immediate institutional measures to protect its premises and staff in the occupied Palestinian territory. This includes adopting clear and binding security protocols, strengthening UN field monitoring at targeted sites, ensuring immediate official documentation of any attack or coercive interference with UN facilities, and urgently briefing relevant UN bodies to take practical steps to prevent recurrence and ensure respect for the inviolability of UN premises and immunities.
International silence legitimises the forcible violation of UN humanitarian work. Euro-Med Monitor calls for the activation of international accountability mechanisms rather than reliance on verbal condemnations, and for an end to the policy of impunity that enables Israel to continue its violations without deterrence.
Euro-Med Monitor urges the international community to compel Israel to fully implement the International Court of Justice advisory opinion issued on 22 October 2025, including reopening closed facilities, restoring water and electricity, halting the confiscation or demolition of UN property, ensuring the uninterrupted functioning of UNRWA, ending measures that obstruct supplies, staff movement, or access to facilities, and securing safe corridors for UN teams.
The targeting of UN facilities and staff must be addressed in the ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court, with responsibility established at the political and military leadership levels and along the chain of command, and all those who ordered, facilitated, participated in, or failed to prevent these attacks prosecuted.
Israel must provide full reparations and remedies, including the reconstruction of destroyed UN facilities and effective, comprehensive compensation for affected staff, victims, and their families.
