Representatives of the Israel Lands Authority (ILA), accompanied by security forces, arrived Tuesday morning to demolish the UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem, located at Ammunition Hill.
The evacuation of the site — which took place earlier this month, and Tuesday’s demolition, stem from a government decision to cut ties with UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, by creating alternative services through other bodies. Legislation passed in the Knesset stipulates that the organization’s assets be transferred to the state and that its diplomatic immunity be revoked, because some of its staff are suspected of participating in the October 7 massacre.
Security forces arrived to demolish the UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem, located on Ammunition Hill
(Video: United Jerusalem)
Following the law’s passage, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the Jerusalem and Heritage Ministry, together with the National Security Council (NSC), the Jerusalem Municipality and other relevant authorities, to formulate a work plan aimed at providing alternative solutions for the services previously offered by UNRWA in Jerusalem. The transition involves moving to Israeli‑provided services for residents of East Jerusalem, including improvements to the health care system in the area, the reassignment of school placements, and, in the longer term, the establishment of an education campus in the Shuafat refugee camp that will serve the thousands of students living nearby.
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Security forces arrived to demolish the UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem, located on Ammunition Hill
“Shehecheyanu — we have lived, sustained, and reached this time! UNRWA’s terror headquarters at Ammunition Hill was evacuated this morning and is now being demolished before the State of Israel enters the area. This is happening as a result of the laws I initiated to expel UNRWA from Israel. May Zion be redeemed!” Knesset member Yulia Malinovsky of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, one of the lawmakers who initiated the bill to sever relations with UNRWA, said.
“The evacuation of UNRWA’s offices is not collective punishment or politics—it is the legal consequence of an organization that lost its neutrality,” said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, president of Shurat HaDin, which represents victims of the October 7 attacks in a major lawsuit against the UN body. “When UNRWA facilities and staff are tied to Hamas terror, Israel has both the right and the obligation to remove that presence from its capital.”
On October 28, 2024, the Knesset plenum approved, in second and third readings, the law to end UNRWA’s activity in Israel — citing suspicions that some of its staff participated in the October 7 massacres. 92 members of the Knesset supported the bill, while 10 opposed it.
According to the bill proposed by lawmakers Boaz Bismuth, Sharren Haskel, Eli Dallal and others, UNRWA will not operate any representative office, provide any services, or conduct any activities, directly or indirectly, on sovereign Israeli territory. As a result, the organization’s operations in East Jerusalem will effectively cease, and its authorities will be transferred to the control and responsibility of the State of Israel.
A second bill, sponsored by Knesset lawmakers Ron Katz, Yulia Malinovsky, Dan Illouz and others, specifies that Israel will terminate all relations with UNRWA — government bodies will not cooperate with it, and it will not be entitled to any of the privileges it previously enjoyed. It passed with 87 supporting votes versus 9 opposing.
First published: 10:20, 01.20.26