East jerusalem: UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, condemned on Monday the Israeli raid into the Agency's HQ in East Jerusalem and replacing the UN flag with Israel's flag.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, Lazzarini stated that Israeli police, accompanied by municipal officials, forcibly entered the UNRWA compound in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Police motorcycles, trucks, and forklifts were brought in, all communications were cut, and furniture, IT equipment, and other property were seized. The UN flag was pulled down and replaced with an Israeli flag.
He noted that this incident followed months of harassment, which included arson attacks in 2024, hateful demonstrations, intimidation, a large-scale disinformation campaign, and anti-UNRWA legislation passed by the Israeli parliament, allegedly in breach of its international obligations. Lazzarini criticized this action as a blatant disregard of Israel's obligation as a United Nations Member State to protect and respect the inviolability of UN premises.
Lazzarini emphasized that UNRWA personnel were compelled to vacate the compound at the beginning of the year. He insisted that regardless of any domestic actions taken, the compound retains its status as a UN premises, immune from any form of interference. He highlighted that Israel is a party to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN, which makes UN premises inviolable and UN property and assets immune from legal processes.
Furthermore, he recalled that the International Court of Justice has underscored Israel's obligation to cooperate with UNRWA and other UN agencies. Lazzarini concluded by warning that allowing such actions poses a new challenge to international law and creates a dangerous precedent for UN operations worldwide.
