AhlulBayt News Agency: The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said on Monday that Israeli police lowered the United Nations flag at the agency’s headquarters in East Jerusalem and raised the Israeli flag instead, describing it as a “new challenge to international law.”
Lazzarini stated on X that the Israeli police, accompanied by municipal officials, stormed the UNRWA complex in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The raid involved bringing in police motorcycles, trucks, and forklifts. All communications at the headquarters were cut, and some furniture and IT equipment were seized.
The Commissioner-General emphasized that this action represents a blatant disregard of Israel’s obligations as a UN member state to protect the sanctity of UN buildings. He noted that agency staff were forced to vacate the headquarters earlier this year, following months of harassment, including deliberate arson attacks in 2024, hate and intimidation demonstrations, a widespread media misinformation campaign, and anti-UNRWA legislation passed by the Israeli parliament.
Lazzarini pointed out that the headquarters retains its UN status and enjoys full immunity from any form of interference. He confirmed that Israel is bound by the UN Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which protects UN buildings and property from inspection, confiscation, and legal proceedings, and that the International Court of Justice has affirmed Israel’s obligation to cooperate with UNRWA and other UN agencies.
He concluded that allowing such a violation constitutes “a new challenge to international law and sets a dangerous precedent anywhere the United Nations operates worldwide.”
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