Palestinian refugee agency compound is demolished, while teargas is fired at UN vocational school in West Bank
Israeli crews have started bulldozing the Jerusalem headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Jerusalem and fired teargas at a UN vocational school in Qalandia, in the West Bank.
Israel accuses the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unwra) of collaborating with Hamas – a charge the agency denies – and last year banned it from operating on its territory. The demolition marks Israel’s latest step against Unrwa, which provides aid to millions of Palestinian refugees.
Roland Friedrich, Unrwa’s director in the West Bank, said the agency had been informed that demolition crews accompanied by police arrived at its East Jerusalem headquarters in the early hours of the morning. The facility had been largely unused for nearly a year because of security threats and incitement, he said, but Israeli forces nonetheless entered the compound, confiscated equipment and expelled the private security guards hired to protect the site.
An Israeli flag was seen hoisted above the facility in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, where some Israeli politicians arrived on the scene to celebrate the organisation’s fate. Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, called it “a historic day”.
