Haaretz: Israel Plans to Build 1400 Settlement Units on the Demolished UNRWA Headquarters in Jerusalem

SadaNews - The Haaretz newspaper reported that Israeli authorities have begun planning to construct approximately 1400 settlement units on the land of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) headquarters, which was demolished this morning in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem, covering an area of 42 dunams.

The newspaper added that the "Israel Land Authority" is preparing to evacuate the UNRWA headquarters in Kafr Aqab soon.

This morning, Itamar Ben Gvir, Minister of National Security in the Israeli occupation government, stormed the headquarters of UNRWA in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood north of occupied Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem governorate reported that Ben Gvir is personally overseeing the demolition operations inside the agency's headquarters, and that an order to seize the UNRWA headquarters was temporarily suspended following demolition operations that affected facilities within the headquarters prior to the suspension of the decision.

This morning, Israeli bulldozers demolished facilities within the UNRWA complex in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

Local sources reported that a force from the occupation army, accompanied by bulldozers, stormed the agency's headquarters after surrounding the surrounding streets and intensifying their military presence in the area, and began demolishing facilities within the agency's complex.

The sources indicated that the occupation forces raised the Israeli flag inside the "UNRWA" headquarters coinciding with the demolition operations.

The Jerusalem governorate stated that the actions of the occupation forces, accompanied by the so-called "Israel Land Authority", to demolish mobile offices within the UNRWA complex in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied Jerusalem, constitute a serious escalation and a direct targeting of a UN agency that enjoys international legal immunity, especially with the occupation forces lowering the United Nations flag and raising the flag of the occupying state inside the complex, under the pretext of lack of licensing, in a flagrant violation of the sanctity of international institutions.

The governorate explained in a statement issued today that the UNRWA complex in Jerusalem is still affiliated with the United Nations and enjoys immunity from any form of intervention or executive, administrative, judicial, or legislative actions, according to the United Nations privileges and immunities convention, as confirmed by the International Court of Justice, stressing that the Israeli occupation does not possess any sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories including Jerusalem, nor over the UN agencies operating therein.

The governorate pointed out that this attack comes in the context of a systematic and ongoing escalation against UNRWA, following the agency's notification of companies providing services (electricity and water) of their intention to stop supplying several of its facilities in occupied East Jerusalem with electricity and water, in addition to the storming of occupation forces into the UNRWA health center on the twelfth of this month, and issuing an order to temporarily close it, despite its being the main source for refugees to receive primary healthcare.

The governorate emphasized that this escalation was preceded by months of harassment and violations targeting UNRWA, including arson attacks during the year 2024, incitement and intimidation demonstrations, and a wide media disinformation campaign, along with anti-UNRWA legislation approved by the Israeli occupation in clear violation of its international obligations, which forced agency employees to evacuate the complex at the beginning of last year, in addition to confiscating furniture, IT equipment, and other belongings.

The Jerusalem governorate stressed that these measures constitute a direct targeting of a UN humanitarian agency that enjoys international consensus on its vital and irreplaceable role, serving approximately 192,000 Palestinian refugees in the governorate, considering that these measures hinder the implementation of the mandate entrusted to UNRWA by the United Nations General Assembly, holding the Israeli occupation responsible, as the occupying power, for the full consequences of these actions, within the framework of its ongoing pursuit to erase the refugee issue and their legitimate right to return in accordance with the decisions of international legitimacy.