UN intends ‘to make sure that all legal obligations are honoured’ after Israel demolished UNRWA headquarters

On 17 May, the Israeli occupation approved a plan to establish what it calls a defence compound on the site of the former United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem.

Site of demolished UNRWA headquarters will now become a millitary base for Israeli occupation forces

The proposal for the site in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of the city was put forward by the occupation’s defence minister Israel Katz. It will see the construction of an Israeli occupation forces (IOF) museum, a recruitment centre, and an office for the “Defence” Minister.

In January, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed UNRWA’s headquarters, ordered staff to leave, and then used heavy machinery to raze it to the ground.

What was left was then set alight. Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, called the burning of UNRWA’s headquarters an unprecedented attack on the United Nations.

But, according to the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN, the UN, its property, and its assets are immune from every form of legal process. UN premises, archives, and documents are “inviolable”, meaning they are legally off-limits to local authorities and protected from interference. And as a party to this treaty, “Israel” is obliged to honour and respect the inviolability of all UN premises. This includes those belonging to UNRWA.

Will the UN take legal action against Israeli occupation over actions against its headquarters?

Following the Knesset’s approval of the plans for the UNRWA site, the UN Secretary-General’s deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said at his daily press briefing:

We are considering, with our legal office, what the next steps are, but we intend to make sure that all legal obligations are honoured. UNRWA sites are UN premises, and they are meant to be inviolable. We have raised concerns about exactly what’s happened to the site, the way it was invaded, the way it was taken over. And these concerns still apply.

UNRWA was formed in 1949. Its mandate is to provide aid and services to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians forcibly displaced by the occupation during the formation of “Israel”, in 1948, until the implementation of Resolution 194. This resolution calls for the right of Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons to return to their homes. There are currently almost six million registered with UNRWA.

But the Israeli occupation’s political goal is to forcibly displace Palestinians from the occupied territory, and ethnically cleanse Palestine. So there are ongoing attempts by the regime to dismantle UNRWA, and erase the status and history of Palestinian refugees both in the occupied territory and abroad.

This is why the zionist regime’s relationship with UNRWA has been hostile for many years. And this relationship has deteriorated further since the start of the genocide in Gaza. The agency has been relentlessly targeted by the occupation, with the aim of disrupting UNRWA’s work and permanently close it down.

Baseless accusations from the occupation — which have been heeded by the West, include claims the agency’s activities are used by Hamas as a cover for “terrorist” acts. The curriculum UNRWA uses in its education system has been accused of encouraging violence. And, according to the lies of the occupation, UNRWA employees also took part in Operation Al Aqsa Flood against “Israel” on 7 October, 2023.

UNRWA Legislation passed by Israeli occupation has a political motive

In October 2024, the Knesset passed legislation to ban UNRWA from providing any services whatsoever in so-called Israel. State authorities were also banned from having contact with UNRWA in both the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank. This has seriously curtailed UNRWA’s activities there.

Then, in December 2025, a law was passed that required Israeli providers to disconnect or withhold water and electricity from UNRWA facilities. The provision of banking or financial services was also blocked to the agency. The Knesset also passed legislation that revokes diplomatic immunities, and also allows the Israel Land Authority to seize UNRWA-controlled land and offices, transferring UNRWA’s assets to the “state of Israel”.

Taking to X to boast of his proposal’s approval, Katz posted:

We outlawed this terror-supporting UN organisation and took the land, and now on its ruins we are building and strengthening Jerusalem—the eternal capital of the Jewish people.

As the international community debates statements of concern and legal obligations, crimes continue to be committed every hour of every day across occupied Palestine.

Absence of accountability ensures the occupation’s crimes continue

The terrorist state of Israel needs to be stopped. If international law means anything, then its violations cannot continue to be met with impunity, diplomatic cover, and empty statements of concern. The destruction of UN institutions, the targeting of refugees, and the ongoing dispossession of Palestinians demand urgent and concrete action from the international community.

But our governments continue to illegally arm, fund, and politically shield the Israeli occupation. They are enabling these crimes and undermining the human rights and democracy they continue to claim they defend. Until meaningful pressure is applied on “Israel” and it is isolated on the world stage, it will continue attacking Palestinians, their institutions and their rights with absolutely no fear of any consequences.

Featured image via Amir Levy/Getty Images