Israel Land Authority orders UNRWA to evacuate Jerusalem premises within 30 days for lease violations

The Israel Land Authority has informed UNRWA that it must vacate its East Jerusalem premises in Ma’alot Dafna within 30 days, following the approval of a demand from Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf to evict the UN agency for Palestinian refugees from any state land it is currently occupying.

In a letter to UNRWA, the ILA writes that it owes them a sum of NIS 27,125,280 ($7,326,711.19) for operating on land belonging to Israel without consent for the last seven years.

In addition, it instructs UNRWA that it is “required to immediately stop any illegal use, destroy everything you have built in violation of the law, vacate the land of any people or items and return it to the Authority within 30 days from the date of this letter.”

Ynet reports that for several years, the ILA has turned a blind eye to UNRWA’s violation of the terms under which the land was leased to it, but has now decided to enforce the terms of the lease in light of tensions over the war in Gaza and the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the October 7 massacre carried out by Hamas in southern Israel.