From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Saudi Arabia condemns Israel’s demolition of UNRWA buildings in East Jerusalem
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSaudi Arabia condemns Israel’s demolition of buildings at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in East Jerusalem, expressing its support for the body in Israel’s crosshairs.
The kingdom expresses its “strongest condemnation of the demolition of buildings belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) by the Israeli occupation forces,” its foreign ministry says in a statement.
Following Israel’s law banning UNRWA activity, the Israel Land Authority—backed by police—has seized the UNRWA compound in Jerusalem’s Ma’alot Dafna neighborhood.
The site is returning to state control and will be redeveloped for public use. pic.twitter.com/UXiSL3tZXx— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) January 20, 2026
The kingdom also expresses its “support for UNRWA in its humanitarian mission to help the brotherly Palestinian people.”
The demolition was in line with a law passed in October 2024 banning the UN agency from operating in the country. Israel accuses the UN agency of perpetuating the conflict by continuing to confer refugee status on Palestinian descendants. It ramped up its campaign against the agency after evidence showed that employees of the agency had participated in the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas. Israel has also alleged that more than 10 percent of UNRWA’s staff in Gaza have ties to terrorist factions, and that educational facilities under the organization’s auspices consistently incite hatred of Israel and glorify terror.
The Times of Israel Community.