The Israeli Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee has advanced legislation that would bar water and electricity services to properties registered under the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), with its shuttered East Jerusalem headquarters at the center of the move.
The bill, approved unanimously on December 16, 2025, now heads to the Knesset for its second and third readings before becoming law.
If enacted, it would make supplying utilities to UNRWA facilities a prohibited act under Israeli law and empower the state to seize properties leased to the agency without legal proceedings.
UNRWA’s East Jerusalem headquarters, located in Sheikh Jarrah, was effectively shuttered in early 2025 after the Knesset passed laws banning the agency’s operations inside Israel. The compound, which had served as UNRWA’s central office in Jerusalem for decades, was vacated of international staff and stripped of its operational capacity.
The closure escalated on December 8, 2025, when Israeli police and municipal officials stormed the compound. During the invasion, authorities seized equipment and documents, removed the UN flag, and replaced it with an Israeli flag.
Officials justified the action by citing unpaid municipal taxes, while UNRWA rejected the claim, pointing to its immunity under the 1946 UN Convention on Privileges and Immunities. UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the raid, calling the compound “inviolable and immune from interference.”
The new bill consolidates three separate proposals targeting UNRWA, reflecting a coordinated push by right-wing factions in the Knesset to dismantle the agency’s presence in Jerusalem. Supporters argue the measure is necessary to halt UNRWA’s activity and to make clear that providing services to its offices constitutes prohibited contact.
Israel has long accused UNRWA of perpetuating the refugee issue and, more recently, of complicity in the October 7, 2023, attack. Officials claim that some UNRWA employees were involved in the assault, allegations the agency has denied.
UNRWA insists that its mandate is humanitarian, providing education, healthcare, and food assistance to more than 5.6 million registered Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
The UN General Assembly recently passed a resolution demanding that Israel cease obstructing UNRWA’s operations and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Human rights organizations warn that cutting utilities to UNRWA’s Jerusalem offices would severely undermine its ability to deliver life-saving assistance, particularly amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank.
Critics argue that the legislation is not only punitive but also a violation of Israel’s obligations under international law.
“Israeli authorities showed blatant disregard of their obligation as a United Nations Member State to protect and respect the inviolability of UN premises,” said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, after the December 8 raid on the agency’s shuttered Jerusalem headquarters.
As the bill moves toward final readings, the stakes are high. Should it pass, UNRWA’s shuttered Jerusalem headquarters could be permanently stripped of utilities and seized, further isolating Palestinian refugees from international support. The legislation symbolizes a broader effort to delegitimize UNRWA and erase the refugee issue from the political agenda.
