Israel demolishes the headquarters of the UN agency. There is an appeal from Antonio Guterres
A spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, stressed in a statement that he considered “completely unacceptable further actions that fuel hostility towards the agency and that are contrary to Israel's obligations under international law, including the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.”
UNRWA assessed that the incursion by Israeli security forces constituted an “unacceptable violation” of UNRWA's rights and immunity as a UN organization, Reuters reported.
Why is Israel demolishing the UNRWA headquarters?
What did Antonio Guterres appeal for?
What accusations does Israel make against UNRWA?
How many people currently have Palestinian refugee status?
Israel demolishes the UN agency's headquarters in Jerusalem
Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the demolition of the buildings was not the result of new decisions, but “the implementation of existing Israeli legislation regarding UNRWA-Hamas,” the Jerusalem Post reported. The ministry stated that the State of Israel is the owner of the complex in Jerusalem, UNRWA no longer operates there, and the area cannot benefit from immunity. “The takeover of the complex was carried out in accordance with both Israeli and international law,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The Jerusalem municipal government last year accused the agency of failing to pay property taxes. UNRWA stated that the land belonged to the UN and the agency had no debts to the city authorities, Reuters recalled. He stressed that while Israel recognizes Jerusalem as part of the country, UNRWA – and most other countries – consider it to be part of the occupied territories.
Israel accuses UNRWA
Israel accuses UNRWA of the involvement of some of its employees in the terrorist activities of the Islamist group Hamas. He also pointed out that some of the tunnels used by Hamas for warehouses, bunkers and command centers of the organization were located directly under UNRWA buildings in the Gaza Strip, and sometimes even drew electricity from their networks.
The head of UNRWA's West Bank branch, Roland Friedrich, said the demolition of the offices was “the culmination of two years of incitement and action against UNRWA in east Jerusalem.”
The United Nations created the aid agency in 1949 to help approximately 700,000 people. Palestinian refugees who fled or were forced to leave what later became Israel during the 1948 war. Palestinian refugees have unique rights and protection under specific UN mandates, while others are covered by the 1951 Refugee Convention, dpa recalled. The status of a Palestinian refugee is hereditary, and descendants of refugees from several decades ago still have the right to use its services. According to the agency, currently the number of people with Palestinian refugee status is approximately 5.9 million and is constantly growing.
