Daijiworld Media Network - Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Dec 10: Tensions escalated in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday after Israeli authorities raided the compound of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), removed the UN flag and hoisted Israel’s national flag in its place.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), accused Israeli police and municipal officials of “forcibly” entering the premises with forklifts and trucks, cutting off communications and seizing office assets including furniture and IT equipment.
The Israeli police, in a statement to international media, said the action was taken by the Jerusalem Municipality as part of a “debt-collection procedure,” claiming the agency owed nearly 11 million shekels (USD 3.4 million) in unpaid property tax — a charge the UN strongly refuted.
“This is a standard procedure against those who ignore repeated reminders,” a spokesperson for the municipality stated. Police said they were only securing municipal staff during the operation.
However, United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric clarified that the UN is exempt from such taxation under international conventions. “It is not applicable under the general conventions that govern the relationship between the United Nations and member states,” he told reporters in New York.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the Israeli move, labeling it an “unauthorized entry” and asserting that the UNRWA premises are “inviolable” under the UN Charter and international law. “This compound remains United Nations on premises and is immune from any other form of interference,” he stressed.
Israel’s confrontation with UNRWA is not new. Authorities have long accused the refugee agency of supporting Hamas — allegations UNRWA has repeatedly rejected. On Monday, Shosh Bedrosian, spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, remarked that the agency has “proved its enormous failures,” insisting that it is time for UNRWA “to be dismantled.”
UNRWA, first established in 1949, currently provides essential services to millions of Palestinian refugees across the region. Israeli leaders argue the agency’s policies and refugee-registration criteria are politically motivated, a point of contention that predates the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
As the political standoff intensifies, global attention is once again drawn to Israel’s broader campaign to limit the role and presence of UNRWA in the region.