A day prior, Israeli authorities raided the compound of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This operation occurred in occupied East Jerusalem. This operation, which involved police and municipal officials, has escalated already heightened tensions between Israel and the agency, known for providing essential services to Palestinian refugees.
Israel has long spoken out against UNRWA’s role and its granting of Palestinian refugee status. The raid takes place within this wider context of day-to-day antagonism. Israeli leaders have turned their guns towards the agency, accusing it of being complicit with Hamas. This move follows the recent attack by the militant group on Israel on October 7, 2023. Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of UNRWA, said that Israeli police had heavily stormed the compound. They took down the UN flag and put up an Israeli flag.
In the course of the raid, Israeli police used dump trucks and forklifts. In response, a spokesperson for the Jerusalem Municipality explained that this action was not an eviction but rather a debt-collection action. They are trying to collect an outstanding property tax of some 11 million shekels, or roughly $3.4 million. They described it as “a standard procedure against those who don’t pay property tax and ignore repeated reminders.”
“This follows a series of warnings and preliminary measures regarding an accumulated property tax debt,” – Jerusalem Municipality spokesperson
In response to the raid, Lazzarini emphasized that the compound remains a United Nations facility, asserting that it is “inviolable and immune from any other form of interference.” This dangerous escalation has shocked the world. Reinforcing this point, UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted the need to protect UN facilities with “utmost urgency and vigilance.”
“This compound remains United Nations on premises and is inviolable and immune from any other form of interference,” – António Guterres
For years, Israeli leaders have similarly condemned UNRWA. In doing so, they criticize the organization for perpetuating Palestinians’ status as refugees and failing to live up to its humanitarian mission. Shosh Bedrosian, an Israeli politician, criticized the agency’s effectiveness, stating, “UNRWA has proven its enormous failures, and it’s time for it to be dismantled.”
Over the last few years, Israel’s Knesset enacted a series of laws outlawing UNRWA’s presence in its territories. They further banned Israeli officials from having any communication with the agency. UNRWA is the primary provider of shelter, food, education and health services. UNRWA supports nearly two million people in Gaza. It provides jobs for 3,000 medical professionals and educates about 500,000 students.
Even in the face of Israel’s false accusations of collusion with Hamas, UNRWA has repeatedly refuted these allegations — standing firm against the undermining of its humanitarian mission. The continued conflict between Israeli authorities and UNRWA raises serious alarm bells. It jeopardizes the future of humanitarian assistance for Palestinian refugees during a time of increasing hostilities.
