The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has condemned what it described as an unprecedented raid by Israeli forces on its main headquarters in East Jerusalem, during which the Israeli flag was raised over the building for the first time.
Adnan Abu Hasna, UNRWA’s media adviser, told Egypt’s Extra News channel that large Israeli forces stormed the agency’s headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, which also serves as UNRWA’s operational center for the West Bank.
According to Abu Hasna, the forces broke the building’s locks, detained security guards, confiscated their mobile phones, and seized materials from inside the offices. He stressed that the act of raising the Israeli flag on a United Nations facility “is an unprecedented incident that has never occurred at any UN headquarters in Jerusalem, the West Bank, or the Gaza Strip.”
He explained that the compound functions as UNRWA’s regional hub for several areas, including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank, and Gaza. The raid, he said, violates the 14 June 1967 agreement between Israel and UNRWA, which obliges Israel to respect the agency’s operations, protect its facilities, ensure the immunity of its staff, and facilitate its humanitarian work.
Abu Hasna added that the United Nations considers the incident a serious breach of international law and a violation of the organization’s institutional principles. He noted that both legal and political measures are underway to confront what he described as a “major violation,” warning that such actions could set a dangerous precedent for other international organizations if not met with a firm response.
He confirmed that the UN has already begun mobilizing efforts at the highest levels to address the incident.
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