The Popular National Conference for Jerusalem: Israel's demolition of UNRWA buildings in Sheikh Jarrah is a concrete advanced step to liquidate the refugee issue and the right of return... and a disregard for the international community

The General Secretariat of the Popular National Conference for Jerusalem considered that the Israeli occupation government's demolition today, Tuesday, of buildings belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) at its main headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah in occupied Jerusalem, is a practical and advanced step on the ground to liquidate all international institutions that symbolize the issue of refugees and the right of return for the Palestinian people who were uprooted from their land and thrown into exile and camps. 

The General Secretariat stated in a statement that this arbitrary occupation measure aims to send a message to the international community that Israel is proceeding with its liquidation project for the Palestinian cause, the features of which began to emerge effectively after October 7, 2023, noting that the world, with its suspicious silence, gives Israel the green light to implement this criminal plan without taking into account any international deterrent. 

The General Secretariat stressed that the leadership of the extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir in the demolition operation and the military display during it means that the war on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency is taking place with a clear Israeli political decision led by the extreme right in the occupation state, whose outward appearance is Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, and whose inner reality is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who derives the legitimacy of his actions, which violate international law, from the United States of America. 

The General Secretariat considered that the plan to liquidate "UNRWA" is not new, but rather a declared issue by the occupation state, which launched a wide-ranging attack on refugee camps in the northern West Bank last year, where it destroyed the camps of Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams and displaced their residents again, while continuing its aggressive military campaign against the Jerusalem camps, foremost among them Qalandia camp, which is subjected to daily incursions by the occupation army, which kills, arrests, and demolishes without any regard for the international community and relevant international resolutions on the refugee issue, especially Resolution 194. 

The General Secretariat stated in its statement that the demolition of "UNRWA" facilities and the storming of its headquarters in East Jerusalem and the closure of its facilities directly contradict the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice issued on October 22 last year regarding "Israel's obligations concerning the presence and activities of the United Nations and other international organizations" in the occupied Palestinian territory; as the court affirmed that Israel, as an occupying power and a member of the United Nations, is obligated to cooperate in good faith with the United Nations, and to ensure full respect for its privileges, immunities, properties, and personnel, and its duty to facilitate the work of United Nations agencies, including "UNRWA", not to obstruct it, dry it up, or subject it to undermining measures. Consequently, the demolition, closure, and accompanying political supervision constitute an actual obstruction of a UN mandate and an infringement on the protection of the property of an international organization, which is a clear contradiction of the duty of "facilitation" emphasized by the court in the occupied territory, including East Jerusalem, according to specialized human rights institutions.

The General Secretariat stated that targeting the "UNRWA" headquarters in Jerusalem specifically aims to permanently control the headquarters and annex it to the sovereignty of the occupation state on the one hand, and on the other hand, the arbitrary measure indicates that Israel is forcibly imposing its sovereignty over Jerusalem and its international and Arab institutions as an advanced step towards resolving the issue of the holy city and blocking any political solution that would lead to making East Jerusalem the capital of the future Palestinian state. 

The General Secretariat also warned that the next target for the occupation bulldozers will be the Qalandia Training Institute, known as "Al-Sina'a," which Israeli army forces have raided more than once and given the agency a specific period to evacuate it with the aim of controlling it and establishing Judaization projects inside it under the false slogan of "developing the area by establishing recreational facilities and economic institutions that revive the area," knowing that the actual control of the institute will be by the occupation municipality, which is simultaneously establishing a massive settlement project at Qalandia International Airport, where it has begun building about 9,000 new settlement units in this area, which is crowded with Palestinian refugees. 

It is worth noting that the demolition of the agency's buildings in Sheikh Jarrah specifically comes at a time when "UNRWA" has become largely unable to carry out its mandate in the occupied Palestinian territory due to new Israeli laws and procedures, especially with regard to providing humanitarian aid, education, health care, and other essential services that are a lifeline for millions of Palestinian refugees, half of whom are children. This systematic obstruction leads to depriving them of their basic rights and undermining the elements of their survival, especially in the Gaza Strip, where about 2 million refugees face an imminent threat to their lives as a result of policies of starvation and deprivation of medical care and essential life-saving materials, in parallel with the continuation of killing, targeting, causing injuries, and severe suffering.

The General Secretariat of the Popular National Conference for Jerusalem stressed that these measures represent a blatant violation of Israel's obligations as an occupying power and reveal a comprehensive policy aimed at paralyzing "UNRWA's" ability to perform its mandate and forcibly pushing it to withdraw from the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, in preparation for re-engineering the demographic and institutional reality in the holy city.

The General Secretariat stressed that international silence on what is happening legitimizes the forcible violation of UN humanitarian work, demanding the activation of international accountability mechanisms, not just verbal condemnations, and putting an end to the policy of impunity that encourages Israel to continue its violations without deterrence. It also called on the international community to compel Israel to fully implement the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice issued on October 22, 2025, including reopening closed headquarters, restoring electricity and water, stopping any confiscation or demolition of UN property, ensuring the continued unhindered operation of "UNRWA," stopping any measures that obstruct the entry of supplies or the movement of personnel or access to headquarters, and securing safe corridors for UN teams.