Responding to the dramatic event, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, described it as an “unprecedented attack” against the UN, whose facilities are protected by international law.
The move represents “a new level of open and deliberate defiance of international law, including the privileges and immunities of the United Nations, by the State of Israel,” he said. OOPS The Commissioner General said on day X.
Guterres condemnation
Secretary General António Guterres condemned the demolition “in the strongest terms.”
The UN chief has repeatedly and unequivocally stated that the complex remains the headquarters of the UN and is “inviolable and immune to any form of interference.”
“The Secretary General considers the continued escalation of actions against UNRWA totally unacceptable” the declaration from his office he continued.
Guterres called on Israel to stop the demolition and return the complex to the UN “without delay.”
The “outrage” of the human rights chief
Echoing those concerns, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed his “outrage” at the incident, which marks a sharp escalation of tensions between Israeli authorities and UNRWA.
“This compounds what we have been seeing for some time: targeting aid groups and U.N. actors who are trying to help,” said Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the High Commissioner.
On 14 January, Israeli forces entered an UNRWA health center in East Jerusalem and ordered its closure. At the time of the incident, the agency said its workers were “terrified.” In the coming weeks, water and power supplies to UNRWA facilities, including buildings used for healthcare and education, are expected to be shut off.
“This is a direct result of legislation passed by the Israeli parliament in December, which intensified existing anti-UNRWA laws adopted in 2024,” Lazzarini said.
UNRWA facilities had previously been targeted by arsonists amid a “large-scale disinformation campaign” against it by Israel, the agency’s Commissioner General said.
This was despite a ruling last October by the UN’s top court, the International Court of Justicewhich reaffirmed that Israel was obliged to “facilitate UNRWA operations, not hinder or impede them. The court also stressed that Israel has no jurisdiction over East Jerusalem,” Lazzarini noted.
“What happens to UNRWA today will happen tomorrow to any other international organization or diplomatic mission, whether in the occupied Palestinian territory or anywhere in the world,” he continued. “International law has been under increasing attack for too long and risks becoming irrelevant if there is no response from Member States.”
