RAMALLAH, Jan 20 (KUNA) -- Israeli occupation authorities on Tuesday demolished mobile offices inside the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.
Israeli machinery, accompanied by the so-called Israel Land Authority, carried out the demolition of the mobile offices within the UN agency's compound, removed the UN flag, and hoisted the Israeli flag, citing an alleged lack of licensing, said the Al-Quds Governorate.
In a press statement, the governorate said Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir participated in the demolition, describing the move as a dangerous escalation that reflects a systematic official policy targeting a UN agency that enjoys international legal immunity.
The governorate stressed that the UNRWA compound in Al-Quds has long been affiliated with the UN and is protected from any form of intervention or executive, administrative, judicial or legislative measures under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN, a principle affirmed by the International Court of Justice.
The Israeli occupation has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory, including Al-Quds, nor over UN institutions operating there.
The statement noted that the attack comes as part of an ongoing escalation against UNRWA, following notifications to the agency that utility companies intend to cut electricity and water supplies to a number of its facilities in occupied East Jerusalem.
For its part, the Human Rights and Civil Society Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization condemned the demolition, the removal of the UN flag and the raising of the Israeli flag, describing it as a deliberate act of aggression and a blatant violation of the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN, the UN Charter and the rules of international law.
The department said in a statement that the act represents a serious disregard for the international system and for the legal obligations incumbent on Israel as an occupying power.
In October 2024, the Israeli Knesset passed legislation banning UNRWA's activities in areas under Israeli control. Last year, it also approved a law prohibiting the provision of water, electricity, telecommunications and financial services to the agency's facilities.
The Al-Quds Governorate said UNRWA serves around 192,000 Palestinian refugees in the city, warning that Israeli measures obstruct the agency's mandate granted by the UN General Assembly. (end) nq.aa