On 20 January 2026, Israeli forces stormed the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA ) Headquarters, a United Nations site, in East Jerusalem. Bulldozers entered the compound and demolished its offices and warehouses under the watch of Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who described it as “an historic day, a day for celebration”. The UN flag over the UN site was removed and replaced by an Israeli flag.
Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Aryeh King posted on Facebook a video of himself standing outside the demolition site, saying that “there is no choice, it’s either them or us… with God’s help, we will destroy, we will eliminate and annihilate all UNRWA personnel.” Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur, noted, “This constitutes yet another instance of genocidal incitement that has become disturbingly normalised in Israel.”
Israel must recognise UN immunity from interference
The demolition and seizure of UNRWA headquarters occurred despite a ruling in October 2025 by the International Court of Justice, which restated that Israel was obliged to facilitate UNRWA’s operations, not hinder or prevent them. The court also stressed that Israel has no jurisdiction over East Jerusalem. UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement strongly condemning the unauthorised demolition. “This compound remains United Nations premises and is inviolable and immune from any other form of interference,” he said. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini condemned the events as “a new level of open and deliberate defiance of international law” by the State of Israel, warning that “A lost moral compass opens a barbaric new era”.
Israel’s attempts to erase the history of Palestinian Refugees
The establishment of UNRWA in 1949 by the UN General Assembly, and its very existence, is a reminder to the world of the atrocities carried out against the Palestinian people when Israel declared its state in 1948. Known as the NAKBA, 750,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes and land in what is now the State of Israel. They were forced to flee to neighbouring countries Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, as well as to East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. UNRWA recognises these Palestinians as refugees entitled to education, healthcare and other services until they can exercise their right to return to their homes and land as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.
Israel has long tried, by lobbying Western states, to eliminate UNRWA. This latest attack on UNRWA is part of an ongoing effort by the Israeli authorities to erase the history of Palestinian refugees and to prevent UNRWA from providing essential services to them. In 2025 alone, according to the UN, approximately 32,000 Palestinian refugees were displaced in the West Bank, primarily as a result of the Israeli military’s “Operation Iron Wall,” which began in January 2025, and targeted refugee camps in the West Bank, including Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams Refugee camps.
It is also part of a bigger crackdown by Israel on 37 aid groups, including Médecins Sans Frontières, by refusing to renew their permits, which enable them to provide essential support to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
In Gaza, 382 UNRWA staff, including teachers, doctors, engineers and social workers, were killed by Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023. UNRWA ran over 300 schools in Gaza, serving approximately 300,000 students. About 80 per cent of UNRWA schools in Gaza have been completely destroyed by Israel, the remainder are being used to shelter the Gazan people displaced during the genocide. UNRWA have safely distributed food in Gaza for years. Israel, with the US, tried to replace the UNRWA food distribution in Gaza with the so-called ‘Gaza Humanitarian Fund’ (GHF ), which, according to the UN, resulted in the killing of at least 1,054 Palestinians and injuries to more than 7,000 during the operation of GHF from May to November 2025.
Israeli legislation targeting UNRWA
During 2024 and 2025, the Israeli Knesset passed laws that officially ban UNRWA from operating in Israeli-controlled areas, including East Jerusalem. Further legislation in December 2025 stripped UNRWA of its traditional UN privileges and immunities in Israel. It mandates revocation of all permits, visas, and licenses for UNRWA personnel and allows Israeli authorities to seize or disconnect utilities (water, electricity, communications ) from UNRWA properties, including those used for healthcare and education.
The demolition of the UNRWA Headquarters is just the latest event since the Israeli ban on UNRWA’s activities came into effect. Israel had already closed six UNRWA-run schools in East Jerusalem in May 2025, resulting in over 600 students being deprived of education. In February 2025, an UNRWA-run training centre in Qalandia (East Jerusalem ) with over 350 trainees and 30 staff, was forced by Israeli forces to close, disrupting access to vocational education. It now faces permanent closure, with the land on which the centre is located at risk of expropriation by Israeli authorities.
The 70,000 patients served annually in East Jerusalem by UNRWA health services will also be affected, leaving vulnerable patients facing loss of healthcare and ongoing treatment for chronic illness. Already on 12 January 2026, Israeli forces stormed into an UNRWA health centre in East Jerusalem and ordered it to close.
The UN has pointed out that the anti-UNRWA laws will further impede the delivery and distribution of UN humanitarian aid entering Gaza, most of which is coordinated by UNRWA. This will potentially undermine the fragile so-called ‘ceasefire’, worsening the humanitarian crisis.
New Israeli illegal settlement planned for the UNRWA site
Israeli authorities have announced their plan to build 1,400 housing units on this 11-acre UNRWA site. This marks a new low for Israel as they plan to construct an illegal settlement on UN property. Already, there are more than 720,000 Israeli settlers living illegally on occupied Palestinian land in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, an area 10 per cent smaller than County Galway.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli settler and military violence has escalated. At least 1,025 Palestinians, including 223 children, have been killed, and more than 4,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced from their homes and their land by Israeli settler violence.
Yet, our government continue to trade with these settlers in our name.
The Irish Government’s obligations
Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s commissioner general, warns that “This must be a wake-up call. What happens today to UNRWA will happen tomorrow to any other international organisation or diplomatic mission, whether in the Occupied Palestinian Territory or anywhere around the world.”
Our Minister for Foreign Affairs, Helen McEntee, issued a statement stating that she is “appalled by the further destructive actions taken by Israeli authorities against UNRWA premises in East Jerusalem.” She added that “Ireland fully supports UNRWA and its mandate.” She calls on Israel “to immediately halt all attacks and measures directed at the Agency.”
While this statement is welcome, just as with other past statements from the Irish Government, mere words have no consequences, and Israel continues to act with total impunity. Ireland cannot continue to stand idly by when, as Mr Lazzarini states, “International law has come under increasing attack for too long and is risking irrelevancy in the absence of response by Member States.”
Ireland and the EU must take concrete action. At a minimum, Ireland needs, without further delay, to stop trading with illegal Israeli settlements by enacting the Occupied Territories Bill to include both goods and services. At EU level, Ireland needs to insist that the EU-Israel Trade Agreement is immediately suspended, while Israel is clearly in breach of Article 2 of this trade agreement by continuing to break international human rights and humanitarian law.
Máire Ní Mheibhric, a resident of Co na Gaillimhe, was a human rights observer in the Occupied West Bank.
