Israeli settlers storm UNRWA headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem

A group of right-wing Israelis yesterday stormed the headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem, Anadolu reported.

“Today I am proud to liberate the former UNRWA headquarters in central Jerusalem,” Yulia Malinovsky of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel is Our Home) Party said in a video shared on her account on X from inside the complex.

Malinovsky, a Knesset member, linked the raid to the anniversary of Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem.

יום ירושלים שמח!
היום אנחנו מציינים את היום בו שוחררה ירושלים לפני 58 שנים.
והיום אני גאה לשחרר גם את המטה המרכזי לשעבר של אונר”א במרכז ירושלים.
ממשלת ישראל, אנחנו כאן, אתם מוזמנים להגיע ולראות איך מחילים ריבונות. pic.twitter.com/h61dWODW2r

— Yulia Malinovsky יוליה מלינובסקי (@YuliaMalinovsky) May 26, 2025

“The Israeli government, we are here. You are invited to come and see how sovereignty is applied,” she said.

“I’m here inside the headquarters. UNRWA is no longer here. There is no reason for it to return,” said Malinovsky.

There was no immediate comment from UNRWA on the settler raid.

In October 2024, Israel’s Knesset passed two laws labelling UNRWA as a “terror group” and banning it from operating in the occupied Palestinian territory, including measures to strip the agency of its privileges and prohibit any dealings with it. These laws went into effect on 30 January.

Israel has lobbied hard to have UNRWA closed as it is the only UN agency to have a specific mandate 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.

Established in 1949, UNRWA has served as a critical lifeline for Palestinian refugees, supporting nearly 5.9 million people across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognised by the international community.