Jerusalem, 20 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The Israel Land Authority (ILA) on Tuesday demolished the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) headquarters in northern Jerusalem, the central headquarters from which the embattled agency’s activities for Palestinian refugees in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem were managed.
“Although UNRWA’s official activity in the area was terminated about a year ago, the compound remains occupied by squatters and local officials who were illegally present there, and today’s enforcement action puts an end to the illegal possession of the property,” the ILA said.
UNRWA is banned from operating in Israel, and Israeli officials are prohibited from cooperating with the agency.
“Now that the land is returning to state management, the Authority emphasizes that the Authority will work to promote its planning and development with the aim of marketing it for the benefit of the Israeli public. There is a historic building in the compound: the ‘Police School,’ which is marked as a building for preservation, and the Authority will work to preserve it as part of the future planning of the area,” the ILA added.
In December, police raided the 11-acre compound and raised an Israeli flag over it. Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Arieh King confirmed to The Press Service of Israel at the time that the move was in response to several years of unpaid property taxes and to collect intelligence on who was operating the facility.
The ILA added that it would soon move against another UNRWA compound in eastern Jerusalem’s Kafr Aqab neighborhood.
“This is a historic day, this is a holiday, and this is a very important day for the governance of Jerusalem. For years, these terror supporters have been here, and today these terror supporters are being driven out of here with everything they built here. That’s what will happen to any terror supporter,” said Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir.
On January 15, Israeli authorities shut down a UNRWA-run health clinic in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City.
UNRWA has been under fire for years, with Israeli officials demanding the agency be stripped of its authority in Gaza and defunded amid revelations that members of the agency’s staff participated in Hamas’s October 7 attacks. Despite Israeli, U.S., and some European opposition, the U.N. General Assembly in December voted to extend UNRWA’s mandate for three more years.
Palestinian refugees are the only refugee population with its own dedicated UN agency. The rest of the world’s refugees fall under the mandate of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Around 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. The body of Israeli Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili is the last remaining in Gaza.
Related Topics
