Israeli forces have raided the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem, seizing items and replacing the UN flag with Israel’s flag.

In a statement on X, the agency’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, said Israeli police, accompanied by municipal officials, forcibly entered its compound in Sheikh Jarrah early on Monday morning.

“Police motorcycles, as well as trucks and forklifts, were brought in and all communications were cut. Furniture, IT equipment and other property was seized,” he said. “The UN flag was pulled down and replaced with an Israeli flag.”

UNRWA has not used the building since the beginning of the year after Israeli authorities ordered the agency to vacate all of its premises and halt operations inside Israel.

Lazzarini said this follows “months of harassment that included arson attacks in 2024, hateful demonstrations and intimidation, supported by a large-scale disinformation campaign, as well as anti-UNRWA legislation passed by the Israeli parliament in breach of its international obligations”.

Israel barred UNRWA from operating on its soil after claiming some employees had participated in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. UNRWA denied the allegations, while in October the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel’s allegations against UNRWA were unsubstantiated.

Still, Israel’s claims prompted the United States, historically UNRWA’s largest donor, to suspend funding.

UNRWA was forced to repatriate its international staff from Gaza and the occupied West Bank, severely limiting aid distribution at a time when Palestinians are facing extreme shortages of food and shelter amid Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

In October, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion reaffirming Israel’s legal obligation to support UN relief efforts in Gaza, including those carried out by UNRWA, and to cooperate with UN agencies operating in the occupied territories.

‘A dangerous precedent’

Lazzarini condemned the latest attack on UNRWA as a direct violation of international law, saying it showed “a blatant disregard of Israel’s obligation as a United Nations Member State to protect & respect the inviolability of UN premises”.

While Israel has attempted to strip the compound of its UN status, Lazzarini said its actions have no legal effect.

“However, whatever action taken domestically, the compound retains its status as a UN premises, immune from any form of interference,” he said, adding that Israel is a signatory to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN.

UNRWA is the largest humanitarian organisation operating in Gaza and the West Bank, and also provides schooling, healthcare, social services and shelter to millions of Palestinian refugees across the Middle East.

For Palestinians, the agency’s existence is tied to their internationally recognised right of return to homes from which they or their families were expelled during the creation of Israel in 1948.

The raid comes amid Israel’s continued genocidal war on Gaza. According to health officials in Gaza, the total number of people killed in Israeli attacks stands at at least 70,365, with 171,058 others wounded.