NEW YORK, December 8, 2025 (WAFA) – UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, condemned on Monday the Israeli raid into the Agency’s HQ in East Jerusalem and replacing the UN flag with Israel’s flag.

In a statement on X, Lazzarini said that Israeli police accompanied by municipal officials forcibly entered the UNRWA compound in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

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

He added that this followed “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.”

He slammed this action as “a blatant disregard of Israel’s obligation as a United Nations Member State to protect and respect the inviolability of UN premises.”

He pointed out that “UNRWA personnel were forced to vacate the compound at the beginning of this year.”

He stressed that “whatever action taken domestically, the compound retains its status as a UN premises, immune from any form of interference.”

He recalled that “Israel is party to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN. The Convention makes UN premises inviolable - in other words, immune from search and/or seizure - and makes UN property and assets immune from legal process.”

He also recalled that “the International Court of Justice has also underscored that Israel is obliged to cooperate with UNRWA and other UN agencies.”

“To allow this represents a new challenge to international law, one that creates a dangerous precedent anywhere else the UN is present across the world,” he concluded.

K.F.