Israel Demolishes UNRWA Headquarters In East Jerusalem

On Jan. 20, 2026, Israeli police and enforcement officers from the Israel Land Authority entered and began demolishing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem with bulldozers and engineering equipment, and the Israel Land Authority said it had "secured full possession of the property and began clearing the premises."

The demolitions come after an Oct. 2024 Knesset law banning UNRWA from operating in what Israel defines as its territory and a Dec. 2025 law permitting the state to reclaim UNRWA land in East Jerusalem amid Israeli allegations that some UNRWA staff collaborated with Hamas in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, allegations UNRWA has repeatedly denied.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini called the action "an unprecedented attack against a United Nations agency and its premises" and warned it threatened other international organisations, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres's spokesman Farhan Haq urged Israel to "immediately cease the demolition and return and restore the compound" to the U.N., and Israel's Foreign Ministry said the compound "does not enjoy any immunity" and that the seizure was carried out in accordance with Israeli and international law.

UNRWA says it provides services to about 2.5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and roughly 3 million more in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, the agency reported that 382 of its colleagues have been killed in Gaza since the start of the conflict, and aid groups and Israeli officials said Israel has revoked operating licences for 37 organisations and warned dozens more their licences would expire at the end of 2025.

UNRWA, the U.N. and rights groups said they will pursue legal and diplomatic remedies including possible proceedings at the International Court of Justice, U.N. officials and legal sources said, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said the action was "a historic day," and Israeli authorities signalled other East Jerusalem UNRWA properties such as the Kfar 'Aqab compound could be reclaimed in the near future while UNRWA warned the demolitions imperil the Qalandia vocational centre and a health facility in Shu'afat.