Israel razing refugee facilities

U.N. says action violates international law protecting sites

- BY SAM METZ

MOSTAFA ALKHAROUF Anadolu THE U.N. Relief and Works Agency's Jerusalem offices are demolished Tuesday.

Israeli forces on Tuesday targeted at least two United Nations facilities, pushing forward with a crackdown against the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees tasked with delivering humanitarian services to millions of people across the region.

Crews began bulldozing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s offices in Sheikh Jarrah and fired tear gas at a vocational school in Qalandiya, marking Israel's latest and most dramatic step against UNRWA.

Israel has long railed against the agency, accusing it of being infiltrated by the militant group Hamas and saying that some of its employees were involved in the October 2023 attack that triggered Israel's two-year war in Gaza.

UNRWA leaders have said they took swift action against the employees accused of taking part in the attack, and have denied allegations that the agency tolerates or collaborates with Hamas.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday condemned Israel's destruction of the agency’s compound and called for it to be returned to the United Nations’ control.

"The Secretary-General views as wholly unacceptable the continued escalatory actions against UNRWA, which are inconsistent with Israel’s clear obligations under international law,” said Farhan Haq, the deputy U.N. spokesperson.