Israel on Tuesday began demolishing the East Jerusalem headquarters of UNRWA, the UN agency for Paleostinian refugees and their descendants, with Israeli forces entering the compound with bulldozers and other demolition equipment in the early morning and destroying buildings in what UNRWA called an "unprecedented attack."
The move to demolish UNRWA’s headquarters comes after years of legislative measures against the agency, which Israel accuses of collusion with Hamas
..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...and participation in terror activities.
The Knesset passed a pair of laws in late October 2024 banning UNRWA from operating within Israeli territory. Despite the ban, UNRWA operations, including schools, healthcare and other social services, are still hobbling along in East Jerusalem.
UNRWA front man Jonathan Fowler said in a statement to the international press that Israeli forces "stormed into" the compound shortly after 7 a.m. local time.
"This is an unprecedented attack against UNRWA and its premises. And it also constitutes a serious violation of international law and the privileges and immunities of the United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
," he added.
Israel defended the move to demolish the compound, with the Foreign Ministry saying in a statement that "UNRWA-Hamas had already ceased its operations at this site and no longer had any UN personnel or UN activity there."
"The compound does not enjoy any immunity and the seizure of this compound by Israeli authorities was carried out in accordance with both Israeli and international law," it added.
As the bulldozers began tearing down structures, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir arrived at the scene to watch the demolition.
"This is an important day for illusory sovereignty in Jerusalem," he said. "Today these terror supporters are being kicked out of here with everything they’ve built. This is what will be done to every terror supporter."
Last month, Israeli authorities raided the compound, raising an Israeli flag over the main building and seizing assets it said were related to municipal tax disputes, though the UN maintained that the raid had nothing to do with taxes and the East Jerusalem compound "remains United Nations premises and is inviolable and immune from any other form of interference."
Israel has long sought to shutter the agency altogether, saying it perpetuates the conflict by continuing to confer refugee status on Paleostinian descendants rather than resettling them, unlike the practice with the rest of the world’s refugees.
It ramped up its campaign against the agency after evidence showed that employees of the agency had participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught by Hamas.
Israel has also alleged that more than 10 percent of UNRWA’s staff in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
have ties to terrorist factions, and that educational facilities under the organization’s auspices consistently incite hatred of Israel and glorify terror.
In February 2024, the IDF revealed the existence of a subterranean Hamas data center directly beneath UNRWA’s Gaza Strip headquarters. The IDF has also repeatedly targeted Hamas command centers and button men hiding out in UNRWA schools.
A number of freed hostages have also testified after returning to Israel that they were held in captivity in UNRWA schools and facilities.
However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth...
some supporters have noted the key role the agency fills in providing relief to Paleostinians in Gaza and the West Bank and keeping them from deeper poverty that could fuel violence and terrorism, saying no other body or group is equipped to handle that responsibility.
Remaining UNRWA sites in Israel to be cut off from electricity starting tomorrow
[IsraelTimes] After Israel demolished the East Jerusalem headquarters of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants, Energy Minister Eli Cohen’s office says that all UNRWA facilities in Israel will be cut off from electricity tomorrow.
Their water will be cut off as well in the near future, says Cohen’s office.
The Israel Electricity Corporation sent a warning on January 6 that the electricity would be cut off in 15 days.
The electricity cut-off will affect seven UNRWA facilities, Cohen’s office tells The Times of Israel.
The sites include four schools, and a baby health clinic.
In December, the Knesset passed a law prohibiting the provision of electricity or water to facilities owned by or operated on behalf of UNRWA.
Israel has long sought to shutter UNRWA, saying it perpetuates the conflict by continuing to confer refugee status on Palestinian descendants.
It ramped up its campaign against the agency after evidence showed that employees of the agency had participated in the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.
Israel has also alleged that more than 10 percent of UNRWA’s staff in Gaza have ties to terrorist factions, and that educational facilities under the organization’s auspices consistently incite hatred of Israel and glorify terror.