People's National Conference for Jerusalem: Israel's demolition of UNRWA buildings in Sheikh Jarrah is a significant step towards liquidating the refugee issue

SadaNews - The General Secretariat of the People's National Conference for Jerusalem considered that the Israeli occupation government’s action today, Tuesday, to demolish buildings of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) at its headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah in occupied Jerusalem is a concrete step on the ground towards liquidating all international institutions symbolizing the refugee issue and the right of return for the Palestinian people who were uprooted from their land and cast into exile and camps.

The General Secretariat stated in a statement that this arbitrary occupation measure aims to send a message to the international community that Israel is progressing in its project to liquidate the Palestinian cause, the manifestations of which have begun to emerge following October 7, 2023. It pointed out that the world, by its suspicious silence, is giving Israel the green light to implement this criminal plan without considering any international deterrent.

The General Secretariat emphasized that the leadership of the extremist Itamar Ben Gvir in the demolition process and the military display during this signifies that the war on UNRWA is undertaken by a clear Israeli political decision led by the extreme far-right in the occupied state, represented publicly by Ben Gvir and Smotrich, and secretly by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who derives the legitimacy of his actions that violate international law from the United States of America.

The General Secretariat considered that the plan to liquidate UNRWA is not new; it has been publicly declared by the occupying state, which launched a large-scale attack on refugee camps in the northern West Bank last year, destroying the Jenin, Tulkarem, and Noor Shams camps and displacing their residents once again. Meanwhile, it continues its aggressive military campaign on the camps in Jerusalem, led by Qalandia camp, which is subjected to daily incursions by the occupation army that kills, arrests, and demolishes without any regard for the international community or international resolutions concerning the refugee issue, especially Resolution 194.

The General Secretariat stated in its statement that the demolition of UNRWA facilities, storming its headquarters in East Jerusalem, and closing its facilities directly contradict the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice issued on October 22 regarding "Israel’s obligations concerning the presence and activities of the United Nations and other international organizations" in the occupied Palestinian territory; the court confirmed that Israel, as an occupying power and a member of the United Nations, is obligated to cooperate in good faith with the United Nations, ensuring full respect for its privileges, immunities, properties, and staff, and it is required to facilitate the work of UN agencies, including UNRWA, rather than obstruct or dry up its operations or subject it to subversive measures. Therefore, the demolitions, closures, and accompanying political supervision are considered a direct obstruction to a UN mandate and a violation of the protection of international organization properties, explicitly contrary to the "facilitation" duty emphasized by the court in the occupied territory, including East Jerusalem, according to specialized human rights organizations.

The General Secretariat stated that targeting UNRWA’s headquarters in Jerusalem specifically aims to permanently control the headquarters and incorporate it into the sovereignty of the occupying state, and secondly, this arbitrary measure indicates that Israel is forcefully imposing its sovereignty over Jerusalem and its international and Arab institutions as a significant step towards resolving the issue of the holy city and cutting off any political solution that would lead to making East Jerusalem the capital of the prospective Palestinian state.

Furthermore, the General Secretariat warned that the next target of the occupation authorities' bulldozers will be the Qalandia Training Institute, known for "industry," which has been raided multiple times by Israeli forces, giving the agency a limited time to evacuate it for the purpose of controlling it and establishing Judaization projects within it under a false slogan of "developing the area by creating recreational spots and economic institutions to revitalize the region," knowing that the actual control over the institute will be by the occupation municipality, which is simultaneously establishing a massive settlement project at Qalandia International Airport, where it has begun building approximately 9,000 new settlement units in this area, which is densely populated with Palestinian refugees.

It is noteworthy that the demolition of the agency’s buildings in Sheikh Jarrah specifically comes at a time when UNRWA is largely unable to carry out its mandate in the occupied Palestinian territory due to the new Israeli laws and procedures, especially concerning humanitarian assistance, education, healthcare, and other basic services that constitute a vital lifeline for millions of Palestinian refugees, half of whom are children. This systematic disruption leads to the denial of their basic rights and undermines their means of survival, especially in the Gaza Strip, where about 2 million refugees face an imminent threat to their lives due to starvation policies, deprivation of medical care, and life-saving basic supplies, alongside continued killings, targeting, and causing injuries and severe suffering.

The General Secretariat of the People's National Conference for Jerusalem emphasized that these measures represent a blatant violation of Israel's obligations as an occupying power and reveal an integrated policy aimed at incapacitating UNRWA from carrying out its mandate, coercing it to withdraw from the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, in preparation for reengineering the demographic and institutional reality in the holy city.

The General Secretariat stressed that the international silence regarding what is happening legitimizes the forceful violation of humanitarian UN work, demanding the activation of international accountability mechanisms, not merely verbal condemnations, and putting an end to the policy of impunity that encourages Israel to continue its violations without deterrent. It also called on the international community to compel Israel to fully implement the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice issued on October 22, 2025, including reopening the closed headquarters, restoring electricity and water, halting any confiscation or demolition of UN properties, ensuring the continued operation of UNRWA without obstacles, and preventing any measures that hinder the entry of supplies or the movement of staff or access to offices, while securing safe corridors for UN teams.