From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 8, 2025
Police raid East Jerusalem UNRWA offices, apparently over unpaid debts, raise Israeli flag over compound
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Police raided the offices of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants, in East Jerusalem this morning, says the organization’s chief.
Officers pulled down the UN flag atop the compound and replaced it with an Israeli flag, according to UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
He accuses Israel of “blatant disregard” for its obligation as a UN member state to respect the inviolability of UN premises.
Speaking to Haaretz, police say that the officers raided the premises to carry out a seizure over the agency’s outstanding debts. According to Israel Hayom, the agency had failed to pay its property tax, which had accrued to NIS 11.5 million (approximately $3.5 million).
The raid comes after the Knesset passed a pair of laws in late October 2024 banning UNRWA from operating within Israeli territory, however the law only came into effect at the start of the year. Despite the ban, UNRWA services including schools, healthcare and other social services, were still hobbling along in East Jerusalem.
The compound “retains its status as a UN premises, immune from any form of interference” regardless of the ban on the agency, the UN says in a statement decrying today’s raid, claiming that it contravenes the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN, which Israel is party to.
The Times of Israel Community.