‘Barbaric new era’: Palestinians, UN slam Israeli demolition of UNRWA HQ
Israeli authorities demolish the UNRWA compound in occupied East Jerusalem on 20 January 2026
Mohammad Mansour reports in Al Jazeera on 21 Januart 2026:
The bulldozing of the headquarters of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem has sparked condemnation from the world body and Palestinian leaders, who warn the move signals a “barbaric new era” of unchecked defiance of international law.
Israeli forces, accompanied by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, stormed the compound in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood on Tuesday, demolishing structures and confiscating equipment. Ben-Gvir described the destruction as a “historic day”.
Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s commissioner general, said the operation was a “wake-up call” for the world. “This constitutes an unprecedented attack against a United Nations agency and its premises,” Lazzarini wrote on X. “What happens today to UNRWA will happen tomorrow to any other international organization or diplomatic mission … anywhere around the world.”
Lazzarini vehemently rejected Israel’s justification for seizing the land. “The Israeli Government’s claims are false and illegal,” he wrote. “UNRWA has leased the land from the Government of Jordan since 1952. It is now being seized in blatant breach of international law.”
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the demolition was following through on a 2024 law that banned UNRWA.
Lazzarini warned that a “lost moral compass” is opening a dangerous chapter in which UN staff are demonised and their facilities destroyed with impunity.
UNRWA was created by the UN General Assembly in 1949 to provide basic support, including food, healthcare and education, to tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees. More than 750,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes and land leading up to Israel’s creation in 1948, which Palestinians remember as the Nakba, or “catastrophe”.
UNRWA’s operations are spread across Palestinian territory, including in East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
Erasing the right of return
Palestinian leaders view the demolition not merely as a property dispute but also as a calculated attempt to erase the political rights of refugees.