Impending international incident?
Israel Police Invade East Jerusalem UNRWA Office, Confiscate Property, Raise Israeli Flag
UNRWA complains that the office, closed since last year, was politically targeted. Israel Police say enforcement was related to UNRWA debts.
Israeli police carried out a raid Monday morning at the former headquarters of UNRWA in the Sheikh Jarrah area of East Jerusalem, a site that has remained inactive since Israel outlawed the agency’s operations within its sovereign territory last year. At the conclusion of the operation, officers raised a large Israeli flag over the roof of the building, an act captured in widely circulated footage.
According to UNRWA, police entered offices, conducted searches, and seized equipment. A source within the agency told a Qatari television channel that phones belonging to security guards on site were also confiscated. Police officials described the action differently, stating that the raid was part of an enforcement process to seize property due to an outstanding financial debt owed by the agency.
The raid comes amid broader changes to UNRWA’s status in Israel following legislation passed by the 25th Knesset. The law prohibits UNRWA from operating in any area under Israeli sovereignty, and a companion statute bars state bodies and public officials from maintaining formal contact with the agency. With the law’s implementation, the special exemptions and financial benefits previously granted to UNRWA, including relief from VAT, customs duties, excise taxes, and purchase taxes, were cancelled.
In November 2024, the Foreign Ministry, acting under the direction of Minister Israel Katz, announced the termination of Israel’s cooperation agreement with UNRWA. About a month later, the agency declared that it would close its Jerusalem offices and end the employment of all staff working there. The final shuttering of the headquarters took place at the end of January 2025.
Alongside the enforcement steps, Jerusalem’s municipality has been developing alternatives to services historically provided by UNRWA in certain neighborhoods. The city allocated 20 million shekels to prepare land for a new education campus in the Shuafat camp and an additional 3.5 million shekels for medical and health service infrastructure. In May 2025, the Education Ministry issued closure orders for six UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem.
Officials involved in the recent operation described Monday’s action as part of the ongoing implementation of Israeli law regarding the agency’s presence and assets.