GENEVA, January 23, 2026 (WAFA) – Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, said the demolition of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem by Israeli authorities symbolizes a systematic assault on the UN system and the Palestinian people.
In a statement released on Friday, Albanese expressed concern over a “systematic and ongoing attack on UNRWA and the UN system,” following the Israeli forces’ raid on the agency’s complex in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood this week and the start of its demolition using bulldozers and heavy machinery.
“I am horrified by the continued destruction carried out by the Israeli government without any restraint, as the United Nations and international law are dismantled brick by brick before the world’s eyes,” she said. “Attacking UNRWA represents the crushing of international community efforts to preserve Palestinian lives.”
She added that the inciting rhetoric accompanying the demolition, including statements by Israeli officials, is further evidence of the normalization of calls for genocide in Israel, in a development she described as deeply alarming.
Albanese emphasized that an attack by a UN member state on an organization mandated by the UN General Assembly is a dangerous and unprecedented precedent that requires urgent international action, especially in light of the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice in the case brought by South Africa and the court’s opinion affirming that Israel has no right to interfere with UNRWA’s work.
She described the incident as a grave violation of UN privileges and immunities, and an international crime added to a long record of Israeli violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Albanese urged the UN Secretary-General to call on the General Assembly to hold an emergency session to consider next steps following these unprecedented attacks on UNRWA and the United Nations more broadly.
She called for concrete measures including the suspension of Israel’s membership under Article 6 of the UN Charter and the imposition of sanctions, especially on arms trade.
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