Storming of UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem is an attack on the United Nations

The storming of the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem by the Israeli occupation forces constitutes a serious assault on the United Nations and its organizations and a clear violation of its charter. The storming of the UNRWA headquarters by the occupation army, their inspection operations, the detention of security personnel, and the confiscation of their phones represent a dangerous precedent by a member state of the United Nations and a party to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which explicitly stipulates the inviolability of the headquarters of the international organization.
The occupation government continues to take rapid steps to undermine UNRWA's mandate and end its work, given its role in protecting the rights of Palestinian refugees and embodying the international commitment towards them until a just political solution is found to their issue in accordance with Resolution (194). The attack on UNRWA's headquarters is part of a series of Israeli measures that targeted the agency, including freezing its accounts in Israeli banks, preventing its Commissioner-General from entering the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem, in addition to the open war against its employees and headquarters in the Gaza Strip, which led to the martyrdom of 381 employees and the destruction of more than 270 facilities, both completely and partially destroyed. These targeting also come within the framework of the racist laws approved by the Knesset in 2024, which prohibit UNRWA activities in East Jerusalem and undermine its mandate in the West Bank and Gaza, before being amended later to include preventing the supply of water and electricity to the agency's facilities.
There is no doubt that the absence of international deterrence for Israel, and its continued impunity, have motivated it to disregard the international system and continue its violations and attacks on the UN agency "UNRWA." The storming and inspection operation is an illegal practice that flagrantly violates the General Assembly resolutions on the immunity of international organizations, including UNRWA's founding resolution (302) and Article (17), in addition to the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, and Security Council Resolution (2730) issued on May 24, 2024, which obliges states to respect and protect United Nations institutions and humanitarian workers. The storming also contradicts the opinion of the International Court of Justice issued in July 2024, which affirmed that Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and with the advisory opinion issued in November 2025, which obliges the occupying power to respect the immunity of UNRWA and cooperate with it as a UN agency.
What happened confirms that East Jerusalem is an occupied city under international law and international legitimacy resolutions, and that the presence of the occupation forces in it does not grant it any legitimacy nor does it authorize it to storm the headquarters of UN bodies or interfere in their work, which makes these practices gross violations that violate the legal status of the city and the rights of its Palestinian residents. This behavior reflects conduct outside the framework of international legitimacy, and requires immediate and effective international action to hold Israel accountable for its continued violations, and to hold accountable those responsible for the attacks that affect the Palestinian people and their national and international institutions.
The international community must work to protect UNRWA and support it financially and politically, enabling it to implement its mandate based on the resolutions of the General Assembly, foremost of which is Resolution (302), and ensure the continuation of its work until the rights of Palestinian refugees are realized and a just solution to their issue is achieved in accordance with international law and UN Resolution (194). The United Nations General Assembly must take practical and concrete measures to compel the occupation to stop its violations and attacks on UNRWA, respect UN resolutions and its charter, and repeal the laws that target the agency and its mandate.