UNRWA headquarters in occupied Jerusalem faces calls for closure from extremist settlers

Dozens of extremist Israeli settlers demonstrated on Monday evening outside the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem. The demonstration was called for by the deputy mayor of what is known as the West Jerusalem Municipality, the far-right Aryeh King, to demand the agency’s removal from the city.

The UN agency has a headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem. It also manages the Shuafat refugee camp, in addition to a number of schools and medical facilities. Eyewitnesses said that the settlers tried to approach one of the entrances to the UN compound, but police prevented them from doing so.

Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz has renewed his call for UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini to resign. “Congratulations to the @UN on forming the investigative committee. We will submit all evidence highlighting @UNRWA’s ties to terrorism and its harmful effects on regional stability. It is imperative that this committee brings the truth to light, necessitating the immediate resignation of the UNRWA chairman [sic] @UNLazzarini,” wrote Katz on X.

As of 30 January, 18 countries and the European Union have suspended their funding for UNRWA, based on Israel’s allegations that 12 of the agency’s 13,000 employees in Gaza participated in the Hamas attack on 7 October.

Israel has repeatedly equated UNRWA staff with Hamas members in efforts to discredit the agency, providing no evidence of the allegations, while lobbying hard to have UNRWA closed down. It is the only UN agency to have a specific mandate, granted by the UN General Assembly in 1949, to look after the basic needs of Palestinian refugees.

If the agency no longer exists, argues Israel, then the refugee issue must no longer exist, and the legitimate right for Palestinian refugees to return to their land will be unnecessary. Israel has denied that right of return since the late 1940s, even though its own membership of the UN was made conditional upon Palestinian refugees being allowed to return to their homes and land.

“It will be impossible to win the war if we do not destroy UNRWA, this destruction must begin immediately,” said former Israeli foreign ministry official Noga Arbell in early January.

Allegations against the UNRWA staff members came on the same day that the International Criminal Court issued its ruling about Israel’s genocide in Gaza. As of Sunday, the genocidal war has killed 27,365 Palestinians and wounded 66,630, most of them children and women, according to the Palestinian authorities. The Israeli offensive has caused massive destruction of civilian infrastructure and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.

READ: UNRWA: About 100,000 dead, wounded or missing in Gaza