The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the Israeli occupation forces storming the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied Jerusalem on Tuesday morning, 20 January 2026. The forces demolished mobile offices within the compound, lowered the UN agency’s flag, and raised the flag of the Israeli occupation in its place—conduct that constitutes a grave violation of the international legal immunity enjoyed by United Nations premises and personnel.

According to information collected by PCHR’s staff, at approximately 08:00 this morning, Israeli occupation forces, accompanied by three bulldozers and several vehicles belonging to the so-called Israel Land Authority, stormed the UNRWA headquarters—one of the United Nations’ premises—in Sheikh Jarrah. Members of the force removed the UNRWA flag flying atop the building and replaced it with the Israeli flag, in a clear expression of the seizure of the premises and the imposition of forced sovereignty over it. This was carried out alongside the demolition of mobile offices within the agency’s compound, in the presence of Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, who led the raid. The scene reflects the official and systematic nature of the attack and confirms that it is not an isolated incident, but rather a state policy for which Israel bears full legal responsibility.

The Israeli assault on the UN premises comes as a systematic Israeli campaign against the organization. On 12 January 2026, Israeli forces stormed a UNRWA health centre in East Jerusalem and ordered its closure. The Israeli authorities have also decided to cut water and electricity supplies to UNRWA facilities—including health and educational buildings—in the coming weeks.

On 8 December 2025, Israeli police forces raided the organization’s headquarters in East Jerusalem, cut off communications inside the compound, confiscated furniture and information technology equipment, removed the UN flag, and raised the Israeli flag in its place.

These attacks are a direct result of legislation passed by the Israeli Knesset in December, which further tightened laws hostile to UNRWA. These measures were originally adopted in October 2024, when the Knesset passed two laws aimed at banning UNRWA’s activities within what it considers “Israeli territory.” Upon their entry into force on 30 January 2025, the Israeli occupation authorities ordered the agency to vacate all its buildings in occupied East Jerusalem and to cease its operations there, including its historic headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah, its schools, clinics, and vocational training centre. This step became the legal basis for subsequent measures, including the issuance of closure orders against several UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem, affecting the right to education of approximately 800 children.

In February 2025, Israeli forces launched an attack on a UNRWA vocational training centre in the village of Qalandiya, raiding its facilities and using tear gas, and ordered the closure of additional schools. This was preceded by an attack by settlers in May 2024, which included setting fire to the UNRWA headquarters, prompting the agency at the time to temporarily close the premises after they sustained material damage.

PCHR affirms that these attacks constitute a direct assault on a UN agency established by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, whose presence and premises are protected under international law, including the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.

This conduct constitutes yet another link in an escalating Israeli policy targeting UNRWA within a broader context, including attacks on its premises and schools and obstruction of its work in the Gaza Strip, in an attempt to undermine its legal and humanitarian role and terminate its mandate, as part of efforts to end the Palestinian refugee issue and erase their right of return.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights affirms that these systematic attacks against UNRWA contradict the ruling of the International Court of Justice issued in October 2025, which reaffirmed that Israel is obligated under international law to facilitate UNRWA’s operations, not to obstruct or prevent them, and emphasized that Israel has no jurisdiction over East Jerusalem.

The Centre recalls that the Court confirmed that Israel must respect and protect the immunities and privileges granted to the United Nations, its staff, and its premises under international law, including humanitarian agencies, and that it may not implement measures that render the presence of such bodies impossible or strip them of their privileges—acts that Israel is in fact carrying out in both East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

PCHR further stresses that the targeting of UNRWA in East Jerusalem is taking place amid the ongoing Israeli military assault on the Gaza Strip, during which the crime of genocide has been committed and whose acts continue, including killings and forced displacement, reflecting a persistent and grave violation of international humanitarian law and a blatant challenge to the will of the international community.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights calls on the international community and the United Nations to take immediate and effective measures to halt the occupation’s attacks on UNRWA, ensure respect for its immunity, and protect its premises and staff in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.

The Centre also urges holding the Israeli occupation state accountable for these serious violations and taking practical steps to guarantee the continued, unhindered operation of the UN agency, as it constitutes a vital lifeline for the protection of the rights of millions of Palestinian refugees at a time when their lives and dignity are facing an unprecedented threat.