On Tuesday, Israeli forces, led by right-wing Israeli cabinet minister Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir demolished the headquarters of the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem.
UNRWA is the UN agency for Palestinian refugees that supplies emergency food, medicine and schools for the most impoverished Palestinian families.
In addition to attacking the UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem, Israeli troops also fired teargas at a UN vocational school in Qalandia, in the occupied West Bank, marking a major escalation in Israel’s campaign against the main United Nations agency that serves millions of Palestinians.
The demolition of the UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem began at dawn, when Israeli police-backed demolition crews stormed the East Jerusalem compound, confiscated equipment, expelled security guards, and raised an Israeli flag over the site in Sheikh Jarrah. Israeli ministers celebrated the move, while UNRWA condemned it as a clear violation of international law protecting UN facilities.
The sources indicated that the occupation forces raised the Israeli flag inside the UNRWA headquarters in conjunction with the demolition operation.
The demolition of UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem “constitutes an unprecedented attack against against a United Nations agency and premises” said @UNRWA Commissioner- General @UNLazzarini in a statement released this morning. pic.twitter.com/H1Apj6ZyI6
— United Nations Geneva (@UNGeneva) January 20, 2026
Founded in 1949, UNRWA provides education, healthcare, and aid to over 5.5 million Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
The Jerusalem Governorate reported that Bin Gvir personally supervised the demolition operations inside the agency’s headquarters, and that a seizure order was suspended in favor of the so-called “Israeli Territories Department” implementing demolition operations against the UNRWA headquarters.
⚡️🇮🇱BREAKING: Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir celebrating the destruction of UNRWA headquarters:
“A historic day, a holiday, a very important day for governance in Jerusalem. For years, these terror supporters were here, and today these terror supporters… pic.twitter.com/AmpD1Cem5H
— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws1) January 20, 2026
The Jerusalem Governorate considered that the demolition by the occupation forces, accompanied by the so-called “Israel Lands Administration,” of mobile offices inside the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) compound in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied Jerusalem, constitutes a dangerous escalation and a direct targeting of a UN agency that enjoys international legal immunity, especially with the occupation forces lowering the UN flag and raising the flag of the occupying state inside the compound, under the pretext of not having a license, in a flagrant violation of the sanctity of international institutions.
Ariyeh King, Deputy Mayor of the Israeli occupation municipality in Jerusalem, accompanied by Itamar Ben-Gvir, trampled on the UNRWA logo while demolishing the agency’s headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied Jerusalem today. pic.twitter.com/rmQ4CwPNhJ
— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) January 20, 2026
The Governorate explained in a statement issued on Tuesday that the UNRWA compound in Jerusalem remained affiliated with the United Nations and enjoys immunity from any form of interference or executive, administrative, judicial or legislative measures, in accordance with the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which was confirmed by the International Court of Justice, stressing that the Israeli occupation does not have any sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, nor over the UN institutions operating there.
The Governorate stated that this attack comes in the context of a systematic and continuous escalation against UNRWA, following the agency’s notification of the intention of service companies (electricity and water) to stop supplying a number of their facilities in occupied East Jerusalem with electricity and water, in addition to the occupation forces storming, on the twelfth of this month, the UNRWA health center and issuing an order to temporarily close it, despite the fact that it serves refugees and is their primary source of access to primary health care.
The Governorate confirmed that this escalation was preceded by months of harassment and violations that affected UNRWA, including arson attacks during 2024, demonstrations of incitement and intimidation, and a widespread media disinformation campaign, in addition to anti-UNRWA legislation approved by the Israeli occupation in clear violation of its international obligations, which led to the agency’s employees being forced to evacuate the complex early last year, in addition to the confiscation of furniture, information technology equipment and other property.
The Jerusalem Governorate stressed that these measures constitute a direct targeting of a UN humanitarian agency that enjoys international consensus on its vital and irreplaceable role, and serves about 192,000 Palestinian refugees in the governorate, considering that these measures hinder the implementation of the mandate granted to UNRWA by the United Nations General Assembly, and holds the Israeli occupation, as the occupying power, fully responsible for its repercussions, within the framework of its ongoing efforts to erase the refugee issue and their inherent right to return in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions.
The State of Qatar condemned the demolition, saying that the demolition was “a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and a blatant challenge to the international will”.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged the Israeli occupation government to immediately stop the demolition, calling for the headquarters and other UNRWA headquarters to be returned to the United Nations without delay.
The German Foreign Ministry issued a statement that, “United Nations property is protected and may not be violated. We expect the Israeli authorities to abide by their obligations and commitments under international law.”
The Speaker of the Arab Parliament stated that the Storming the headquarters of UNRWA in Jerusalem and raising the flag of the occupation above it is an aggressive behaviour that must be rejected by the international community.
