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New Delhi: Israeli forces have reportedly raided the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem. The forces seized items and replaced the UN flag with the flag of Israel in a raid which has drawn worldwide condemnation. Notably, UNRWA is the largest humanitarian organisation in Gaza and the West Bank, working tirelessly for millions of Palestinian refugees.
UNRWA's commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, took to X and revealed how Israeli police and others used force to enter its compound in Sheikh Jarrah early on Monday morning. He wrote, "Police motorcycles, as well as trucks and forklifts, were brought in and all communications were cut. Furniture, IT equipment and other property were seized. The UN flag was pulled down and replaced with an Israeli flag."
According to Lazzarini, the raid took place after "months of harassment that included arson attacks in 2024, hateful demonstrations and intimidation, supported by a large-scale disinformation campaign, as well as anti-UNRWA legislation passed by the Israeli parliament in breach of its international obligations".
Notably, Israel had earlier ordered UNRWA to vacate all of its premises and stop all operations inside the country. It blamed some UNRWA employees to have participating in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, a claim. that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has reportedly found to be unsubstantiated. However, ot prompted the United States to suspend funding to UNRWA, with the agency forced to bring back its international staff from Gaza and the occupied West Bank at a time of crisis.
As per Al Jazeera, Lazzarini called the latest attack "a blatant disregard of Israel's obligation as a United Nations Member State to protect & respect the inviolability of UN premises." He added, “However, whatever action is taken domestically, the compound retains its status as a UN premises, immune from any form of interference."
