![Palestinians and UN workers examine the destroyed makeshift tents and shelters after Israeli attack hits a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) school, killing and injuring many in Nuseirat Refugee Camp of Deir al-Balah, Gaza on July 15, 2024 [Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AA-20240715-35146034-35146030-ISRAELI_ATTACK_HITS_UNRWA_SCHOOL_IN_NUSEIRAT_CAMP.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The presidency of the Palestinian Authority has called on the international community to increase support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), in response to the Israeli decision to seize its headquarters in Jerusalem and turn it into another illegal settlement. The appeal was made by the presidency’s spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, and published by the official PA news agency, WAFA.
“The Israel Land Authority has decided to confiscate the headquarters of UNRWA in East Jerusalem to build 1,440 settlement units,” reported Israel Hayom last Thursday. The project, added the Israeli newspaper, is in its preliminary stages.
Abu Rudeineh called on the international community to take practical measures in the face of this dangerous Israeli decision that violates international law, by increasing the support provided to UNRWA allowing it to continue to provide its essential services to Palestinian refugees. “The Palestinian people and their leadership will not allow the occupation’s plans to pass and will thwart attempts to liquidate the issue of Palestinian refugees,” added the spokesman. “If it were not for the biased American political, military and financial support for the occupation, the leaders of the occupation regime would not have dared to challenge international legitimacy and international law.”
He called on the US to stop these Israeli policies that “violate all international laws, including the rights of Palestinian refugees,” and warned of the danger of the Israeli decision. “It is not only a violation of international law, but also a challenge to the UN resolutions that represent international legitimacy.”
UNRWA, Abu Rudeineh pointed out, was established in accordance with a UN resolution on December 18, 1949, and the refugee issue is at the core of the Palestinian issue. “It is a red line for any solution, and there will be no security or stability in the entire region unless the refugee issue is settled in a just and comprehensive way.”
The UNRWA headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied Jerusalem has been subjected to a series of attacks by right-wing Israelis in recent months, including an attempt to burn it down. At the end of May, the Israel Land Authority told the agency that it must leave the building within 30 days and pay a fine.
However, UNRWA spokesman Jonathan Fowler told Anadolu news agency at that time, “We learned about the decision through the media and did not receive any information directly from the Israeli authorities. We are unequivocal about our stance. UNRWA has maintained a presence in this headquarters and another facility in East Jerusalem since the early 1950s.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli Knesset (parliament) is preparing to vote on a bill that designates UNRWA as a “terrorist” organisation and prevents it from operating in East Jerusalem. UNRWA has been subjected to a fierce campaign by the Israeli government, which claims that the agency cooperates with Hamas, an allegation that it has strongly denied.
READ: UNRWA commissioner: ‘Objective of Israel’s war to get rid of UNRWA’