Why Did Israel Start Demolishing East Jerusalem’s UNRWA Compound?
- Cecilia Lazzaro Blasbalg
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
This week, Israel began the demolition of East Jerusalem’s UNRWA headquarters, which is the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants. The move is part of Israel’s crackdown on the UN agency, which has been at odds with the Israeli government and escalated by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel has long accused the UNRWA’s Gaza branch of hosting and employing Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas. The UN agency was founded in 1949 to serve Palestinians and their descendants displaced by wars in the region.
At least 9 UN employees involved in Oct. 7 attack The UN launched an internal investigation into the allegations and found that at least nine UN employees had been involved in the October 7 attacks and fired them. UN Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini issued a statement, saying, “I have decided that in the case of these remaining nine staff members, they cannot work for UNRWA. All contracts of these staff members will be terminated in the interest of the Agency.” There are about 13,000 people in Gaza working for the UN agency. However, international staff began leaving Israel a year ago following the Israeli parliament’s ban on the UNRWA that went into effect. The legislation revoked “diplomatic immunity” for the UNRWA, bars Israeli companies from providing services to UNRWA institutions, and allows Israeli authorities to expropriate UNRWA offices, including in East Jerusalem.
Israel’s foreign ministry said that the seizure of UNRWA’s properties was carried out in accordance with both Israeli and international law.
In February, the Israeli military said that it found a network of tunnels under the Gaza headquarters of the UNRWA. British-Israeli former hostage Emily Damari said she was held by Hamas at sites belonging to the UN agency.
Cecilia Lazzaro Blasbalg is the editor-in-chief of the Mideast Journal with a decade of news editing and reporting at Haaretz and Times of Israel. She is a PhD candidate at Tel Aviv University.