Police have raised the Israeli flag over the global organization\u2019s office in East Jerusalem<\/p>\n
The UN has condemned Israel\u2019s raid on the headquarters of the organization\u2019s agency for Palestinian refugees in East Jerusalem.
\nAccording to the Times of Israel, police and tax officials entered the UNRWA office on Monday as part of what they described as an operation to seize assets over unpaid municipal property taxes. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said officials seized \u201cfurniture, IT equipment, and other property.\u201d
\nDuring the raid, police removed the UN flag and raised the Israeli flag over the compound.
\n\u201cYesterday\u2019s storming of UNRWA\u2019s East Jerusalem compound by Israeli police and taking control \u2013 including by replacing the UN flag with the Israeli one \u2013 creates a dangerous precedent,\u201d Lazzarini wrote on X on Tuesday. \u201cThis should be a wake-up call. What happens today to UNRWA can happen tomorrow to any other international organization or diplomatic mission, around the world,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Watch: Israeli flag flies on roof of UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem@UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem, which have been inactive since the organization was banned in Israel, had an Israeli flag hoisted atop the building. pic.twitter.com\/BnTWirphRf\u2014 Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) December 8, 2025 <\/p>\n
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the operation, saying that UN offices were \u201cinviolable and immune from any other form of interference.\u201d
\nIsrael banned UNRWA activities in October 2024, accusing the agency of secretly aiding and providing cover for Hamas \u2013 an allegation the UN denies.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Israeli forces demolish 1,000 buildings in Gaza City \u2013 Palestinian officials<\/p>\n
Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Arieh King defended the raid, arguing that UNRWA was not allowed to operate in East Jerusalem, which the UN considers an occupied Palestinian territory. \u201cIf it\u2019s against the law, the law needs to be enforced,\u201d King told the Press Service of Israel. He added that \u201cpeople need to remember that UNRWA was involved in the terror attack and massacres of October 7,\u201d referring to the Hamas assault in 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza.
\nAlthough the UN rejects Israel\u2019s broader claim that the agency was \u201cinfiltrated by Hamas,\u201d its own investigation in 2024 concluded that at least nine UNRWA staffers may have been involved in the October 7 attack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Police have raised the Israeli flag over the global organization\u2019s office in East Jerusalem The UN has condemned Israel\u2019s raid on the headquarters of the organization\u2019s agency for Palestinian refugees…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24016,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t