Israeli security forces stormed and demolished the UNRWA (UN Relief Works Agency) headquarters on Ammunition Hill in East Jerusalem on January 20.

The incident was captured on camera, with bulldozers entering the compound and demolishing buildings under the watch of lawmakers and a government member, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said following the announcement.

"This constitutes an unprecedented attack against a United Nations agency and its premises," Lazzarini wrote on social media. He described the action as "a new level of open and deliberate defiance of international law, including of the privileges and immunities of the United Nations, by the State of Israel."

Lazzarini stated that Israel is obliged to protect and respect the inviolability of UN premises like all member states committed to the international rule-based order.

The operation follows other steps taken by Israeli authorities targeting the Palestinian refugee identity, according to the commissioner-general. Israeli forces stormed an UNRWA health centre in East Jerusalem on January 12 and ordered it closed.

Water and power supplies to UNRWA facilities, including health and education buildings, are scheduled to be cut in coming weeks, Lazzarini said. He attributed these actions to legislation passed by the Israeli parliament in December that stepped up existing anti-UNRWA laws adopted in 2024.

"These actions, together with previous arson attacks and a large-scale disinformation campaign, fly in the face of the ruling in October by the International Court of Justice, which restated that Israel is obliged under international law to facilitate UNRWA's operations, not hinder or prevent them," Lazzarini wrote.

Following the move to remove the UN mission, Israeli officials said, "This is a historic day, a holiday, and a very important day for Jerusalem's governance," National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir publicly stated at the site.

"For years, these terror supporters were here, and today they are banished with everything they built. This is happening as a result of the laws I initiated to expel UNRWA from Israel."

MP Yulia Malinovsky of Yisrael Beytenu, a co-initiator of legislation severing Israeli ties with UNRWA, declared at the demolition site: "Redemption has come to Zion."

Israel's Foreign Ministry framed the action as implementation of existing legislation rather than new policy, stating the demolition followed "existing Israeli legislation concerning UNRWA-Hamas."

The ministry stated in a press release that "the State of Israel owns the Jerusalem compound in which the Israel Land Authority operates today," adding that UNRWA had already ceased operations at the location prior to January 2025 legislation passage.

"The compound does not enjoy any immunity, and the seizure of this compound by Israeli authorities was carried out in accordance with both Israeli and international law," the ministry continued.

Earlier this month, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced Israel's immediate withdrawal from seven United Nations agencies, citing alleged anti-Israel bias and "ineffective bureaucracy" as primary reasons for the decision.