Israel destroys parts of U.N. agency headquarters in East Jerusalem

Israeli security forces entered the compound around 7 a.m. local time and forced security guards on the site to leave before bringing in heavy machinery and tearing down structures, said Jonathan Fowler, a spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or Unrwa.

Bulldozers tore down what appeared to be temporary structures in the compound, according to videos shared by Israel’s far-right national-security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. He said that the Israeli police were working to clear and destroy the compound.

The compound has been largely vacant for a year, when laws limiting its operations went into effect. The new laws barred the agency from Israeli territory, severed its ties with Israeli officials and effectively revoked Israel’s recognition of its diplomatic status in the country.

Israel’s foreign ministry said Israel owns the compound in East Jerusalem. Unrwa says that Israel has no right to enter the compound without permission because the U.N. charter enshrines diplomatic immunity for its premises, also backed by the U.N.’s top court.

“United Nations premises are inviolable," Fowler said. “Coming in with a bulldozer, knocking it down is an outrageous breach of international law." Israel’s foreign ministry rejected the claim of immunity and said that “the seizure of this compound by Israeli authorities was carried out in accordance with both Israeli and international law."

The U.N. agency says it has leased the property from Jordan since the 1950s, when Jordan controlled East Jerusalem. Israel won control of East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and later declared sovereignty over it. The U.N. and most of the international community don’t recognize Israel’s claims to sovereignty.

The demolitions are the latest blow to Unrwa, whose work has been severely curtailed since the new laws took effect.

Right-wing Israeli politicians have been at the forefront of the crusade against the agency. The latest attack comes at the beginning of an election year.

“This is a historic day," Ben-Gvir said as a yellow excavator behind him pushed into one of the compound’s walls, drowning out his voice. “Today these terror supporters are being kicked out of here," he said in reference to Unrwa.

“We kicked them out of here. We removed their immunity," said Yulia Malinovsky, an Israeli right-wing lawmaker who initiated bills during the Gaza war to cut ties with Unrwa. “This organization for us doesn’t exist in Israel any more in any form. This compound in Jerusalem is a compound on government land, and the government is returning its land." Malinovsky posted a photo of herself on X holding the Unrwa office sign in front of the heavily destroyed compound.

Israel’s campaign against Unrwa escalated in early 2024, when the government accused the agency of having systemic ties to terrorist groups. Israel says the agency looked the other way as its infrastructure in Gaza was exploited by Hamas, which built tunnels and command centers under schools and other civilian buildings run by the agency. Unrwa says it takes the allegations seriously and denies systemic links to terrorist groups.

Israel further alleged that a dozen Unrwa employees participated in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza. A U.N. investigation later found that nine employees might have been involved, and they were dismissed.

The new laws, heavily criticized by human-rights groups and other humanitarian organizations, effectively meant that Unrwa could no longer bring in foreign staff or supplies, which would have to cross Israeli-controlled borders, and could no longer engage directly with Israeli authorities. The laws don’t expressly prohibit the organization from working in the West Bank or in Gaza but have constrained its ability to operate there.

Israeli military officials acknowledge that no single agency will be able to replace all the functions that Unrwa carried out. An Israeli military official said in November 2024 that it would take more than a dozen different organizations to replace Unrwa’s activities in the fields of logistics, water and sanitation, health, shelter and food.

In October 2025, the U.N.’s top court, the International Court of Justice, issued a ruling that Israel is obligated to facilitate the group’s work and respect the inviolability of its premises. Israel’s foreign ministry rejected the ruling, calling it an attempt to politicize humanitarian aid and harm the state of Israel.

Write to Feliz Solomon at feliz.solomon@wsj.com and Anat Peled at anat.peled@wsj.com