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Countdown - Israel demands that UNRWA evacuate its headquarters in Jerusalem by January 30
January 25, 2025

Before midnight, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Pietro Borrell, demanded the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, to stop the UNRWA operations in the city of Jerusalem.

In his letter to Secretary-General Guterres, he demanded that all buildings UNRWA uses in the city be evacuated by January 30.

In October, the Knesset General Assembly approved a law banning the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) inside Israel, in addition to a law banning contact with it. The decision will go into effect at the end of this January.

The occupation authorities accused a number of the agency’s employees in the Gaza Strip of involvement in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

The UNRWA in Jerusalem has its main building which includes offices and warehouses for food and medical supplies, and also has 6 schools; 3 in Shu’fat refugee camp, 1 in Silwan, 1 in Sur Baher, and 1 in Wadi al-Joz neighborhood, for males and females, in addition to the vocational training college in Qalandia refugee camp. There are also 3 health centers in the Old City of Jerusalem, Shu’fat refugee camp, and Qalandia refugee camp.

About 800 students study in UNRWA schools, in addition to about 350 in the Qalandia Training College (vocational education), which is located within the borders of the Jerusalem Municipality.

Since the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip, the agency's main headquarters has been subjected to a series of attacks by settlers, including setting it on fire twice, throwing stones, threatening workers with weapons, deliberately vandalizing its property, and obstructing workers from reaching their workplaces by placing vehicles and black bags, indicating "corpses", in front of the agency's main gate.

In May, the Israeli authorities demanded the evacuation of its main headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood under the pretext of "using the land without the approval of the Israel Land Authority." The Israeli authorities also decided to force the agency to pay 27 million shekels "in late rent for the years in which it used the property, considering it a debt owed by the agency."

In early October, the so-called "Israel Land Authority" decided to confiscate the land of the UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem and establish a settlement project that includes 1,440 housing units.

On Friday evening, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, denounced the Israeli decision on the “X” platform, considering that it “risks sabotaging the ceasefire in Gaza, once again shattering the hopes of those who have suffered unspeakable suffering.” He said, “UNRWA’s work must continue in Gaza and throughout the occupied Palestinian territory.”

UNRWA provides human development and humanitarian services within five programs, including primary and vocational education, primary health care, social safety, community support and infrastructure, camp improvement, microfinance and emergency response, including in situations of armed conflict.”

 

Countdown - Israel demands that UNRWA evacuate its headquarters in Jerusalem by January 30

Before midnight, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Pietro Borrell, demanded the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, to stop the UNRWA operations in the city of Jerusalem.

In his letter to Secretary-General Guterres, he demanded that all buildings UNRWA uses in the city be evacuated by January 30.

In October, the Knesset General Assembly approved a law banning the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) inside Israel, in addition to a law banning contact with it. The decision will go into effect at the end of this January.

The occupation authorities accused a number of the agency’s employees in the Gaza Strip of involvement in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

The UNRWA in Jerusalem has its main building which includes offices and warehouses for food and medical supplies, and also has 6 schools; 3 in Shu’fat refugee camp, 1 in Silwan, 1 in Sur Baher, and 1 in Wadi al-Joz neighborhood, for males and females, in addition to the vocational training college in Qalandia refugee camp. There are also 3 health centers in the Old City of Jerusalem, Shu’fat refugee camp, and Qalandia refugee camp.

About 800 students study in UNRWA schools, in addition to about 350 in the Qalandia Training College (vocational education), which is located within the borders of the Jerusalem Municipality.

Since the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip, the agency's main headquarters has been subjected to a series of attacks by settlers, including setting it on fire twice, throwing stones, threatening workers with weapons, deliberately vandalizing its property, and obstructing workers from reaching their workplaces by placing vehicles and black bags, indicating "corpses", in front of the agency's main gate.

In May, the Israeli authorities demanded the evacuation of its main headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood under the pretext of "using the land without the approval of the Israel Land Authority." The Israeli authorities also decided to force the agency to pay 27 million shekels "in late rent for the years in which it used the property, considering it a debt owed by the agency."

In early October, the so-called "Israel Land Authority" decided to confiscate the land of the UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem and establish a settlement project that includes 1,440 housing units.

On Friday evening, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, denounced the Israeli decision on the “X” platform, considering that it “risks sabotaging the ceasefire in Gaza, once again shattering the hopes of those who have suffered unspeakable suffering.” He said, “UNRWA’s work must continue in Gaza and throughout the occupied Palestinian territory.”

UNRWA provides human development and humanitarian services within five programs, including primary and vocational education, primary health care, social safety, community support and infrastructure, camp improvement, microfinance and emergency response, including in situations of armed conflict.”