About three weeks after bulldozers moved into the Ammunition Hill area and began dismantling UNRWA’s headquarters in Jerusalem, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday sent a sharply worded letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposing the decision to demolish the compound.
Guterres wrote that Israeli authorities had taken control of the site without U.N. authorization and in violation of international law. He warned that if Israel did not meet what he described as its obligations, a legal dispute could arise and be brought before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
In his letter, Guterres did not address allegations conveyed to the United Nations that UNRWA staff members took part in the October 7 massacre, including details of an operative who was filmed abducting the body of Yonatan Samerano, who was killed at the entrance to Kibbutz Be’eri.
Guterres said Israeli forces entered the compound with heavy equipment and destroyed most of its structures, including offices, warehouses, workshops and storage sheds. He wrote that the main building was not demolished but was broken into and later looted, and that on Jan. 25 it was damaged in a fire. He also raised claims of alleged threats against UNRWA personnel at the site, noting that Jerusalem’s deputy mayor was among those present.
The compound in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood has served as a U.N. facility since 1952 and functions as a central logistics hub for UNRWA operations in the Palestinian territories, he wrote. Israel has a clear obligation under international law to protect U.N. property and ensure the safety of its staff, according to the letter.
Guterres added that on January 12 and 13, before the arrival of the bulldozers, Israeli authorities entered UNRWA’s health center in Jerusalem and ordered it closed temporarily through February 10. He said UNRWA facilities in east Jerusalem were also notified of a halt in operations and the disconnection of water and electricity in a manner that would prevent continued activity. As an example, he cited the UNRWA Qalandiya Training Centre, which he said was left without electricity on January 28, halting vocational training for more than 300 Palestinian trainees.
According to Guterres, the legal framework governing UNRWA remains in force despite changes in Israeli law, and Israel is obligated to grant the agency and its staff privileges and immunities under the U.N. Charter and the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. He said the letter was also sent to the president of the General Assembly and the president of the Security Council and called on the Israeli government to engage in dialogue to remedy the situation.
On October 28, 2024, the Knesset approved in its second and third readings a law to end UNRWA’s operations in Israel, after some of its staff were suspected of involvement in the October 7 massacre. The measure passed 92-10.
Under the bill sponsored by lawmakers Boaz Bismuth, Sharren Haskel and Eli Dallal, among others, UNRWA will not operate any representation, provide services or conduct any activity, directly or indirectly, within the sovereign territory of the State of Israel. As a result, the agency’s activities in east Jerusalem are to cease and its authorities transferred to Israel’s responsibility and control.
First published: 18:24, 02.12.26