UNRWA USA Condemns Israeli Authorities Demolition of UNRWA Headquarters in East Jerusalem in Grave Violation of International Law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, DC — January 21, 2026 — Israeli authorities demolished the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem yesterday, an unprecedented and alarming assault on a United Nations facility protected under international law.
Early Tuesday morning, Israeli forces stormed the UNRWA Headquarters, a United Nations (UN) site, in East Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank and began demolishing buildings inside it under the watch of Israeli lawmakers. The demolition took place despite the inviolability of UN premises under international conventions, which prohibit seizure, destruction, or interference by host authorities.
Israeli authorities demolish an UNRWA compound in occupied East Jerusalem on January 20, 2026
Contrary to inaccurate reports in the media, the Government of Israel does not own—nor has ever owned—the property that houses UNRWA’s Sheikh Jarrah compound in East Jerusalem. The demolition and seizure of the compound therefore constitute a blatant breach of international law.
The International Court of Justice and the United Nations General Assembly have determined that Israel’s presence in East Jerusalem is illegal and must end as rapidly as possible. Israel has no sovereign rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and the application of its domestic laws there is unlawful.
“Israel has demolished UNRWA’s headquarters in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem in open defiance of international law” said Mara Kronenfeld, Executive Director of UNRWA USA. “This extraordinary escalation is a direct and unprecedented attack on the United Nations and the international system as a whole. The destruction of a UN compound is also, at its core, an assault on Palestine refugees—it is a dangerous precedent that undermines the rule of law and the protections afforded to refugees and to all humanitarian and diplomatic missions worldwide.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the demolition and called on Israeli authorities to immediately return and restore the compound to the United Nations. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini described the action as “open and deliberate defiance of international law, including of the privileges and immunities of the United Nations, by the State of Israel.”
The demolition follows a series of escalating measures against UNRWA, including the forced closure of health clinics, planned cutoffs of water and electricity to UN facilities, and legislation passed by the Israeli parliament attempting to restrict UNRWA’s operations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. These actions directly contradict rulings by the International Court of Justice affirming Israel’s obligation to facilitate—not obstruct—humanitarian assistance and UN operations in the occupied territory.
UNRWA has provided education, healthcare, and humanitarian assistance to Palestine refugees since 1949. Today, its work is more critical than ever, particularly as people in Gaza and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) face unprecedented humanitarian needs. In fact,12,000 UNRWA staff, Palestinians themselves, remain on the ground in Gaza to this day, providing hundreds of thousands with medical care, safe drinking water, sanitation removal, and education and psychosocial support for school-aged children.
More than 300 UNRWA staff have been killed by Israeli forces during what experts know to be a genocide, and the Agency is grappling with a severe funding crisis that threatens life-saving services.
UNRWA USA calls on the United States government to:
• Publicly condemn the demolition of UN premises;
• Demand the immediate restoration of the UNRWA headquarters;
• Uphold international law and the protections afforded to humanitarian agencies;
• Restore U.S. government funding to UNRWA’s life-saving work.
At this critical moment, the voices of the American public matter. UNRWA USA urges Americans to contact their elected officials and demand that Congress and the Administration speak out against this unlawful demolition, defend the integrity of international humanitarian institutions, and support the restoration of U.S. funding for UNRWA through the UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act.
“What happens to UNRWA today can happen to any international organization tomorrow,” said Kronenfeld. “Silence is not an option. The credibility of international law—and the protection of Palestine refugees who depend on it—are at stake.
“Until there is a just solution to their plight, we will continue working toward a world where Palestine refugees can survive, recover, and ultimately thrive.”
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UNRWA USA National Committee (UNRWA USA) is an independent nonprofit organization that provides support for the humanitarian work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). UNRWA USA lifts up the voices, experiences, and humanity of Palestine refugees to secure American support for resources essential to every human being, for the promise of a better life. US taxpayers are eligible for tax deductions for donations made through UNRWA USA.
