Date: 30/12/2025
Considered an attempt to legitimize the confiscation of UNRWA headquarters and eliminate its legal presence in occupied Jerusalem
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The Refugee Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) condemned the Israeli Knesset's final approval today (in its second and third readings) of a bill to cut off water and electricity supplies to UNRWA headquarters and offices in occupied Jerusalem. The bill, passed by a majority of 59 votes, will now enter into force. The department considers this move an attempt to legitimize the paralysis and confiscation of UNRWA headquarters, eliminate its legal presence in occupied Jerusalem, and deprive Palestinian refugees of vital resources.
In its statement, the organization warned of the repercussions of the law, which aims to paralyze the operations of 17 vital facilities, including schools, health centers, and administrative offices serving more than 110,000 Palestinian refugees in Jerusalem. It explained that the law's final approval would pave the way for the confiscation of key and vital headquarters, most notably the UNRWA headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and the Qalandia training institute.
The department affirmed in its statement that the Knesset's final ratification of the law constitutes a blatant violation of the United Nations and its Charter, a direct assault on international norms and agreements, and a flagrant challenge to General Assembly resolutions concerning the immunities and protection of international organizations, including Resolution 302 establishing UNRWA. It also constitutes a clear breach of the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, Security Council Resolution 2730 of May 24, 2024, which obligates all states to respect and protect UN institutions and humanitarian personnel, and the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice issued last October on the same matter.
The statement further indicated that cutting off water and electricity to UNRWA headquarters and its educational, health, and relief facilities in occupied Jerusalem constitutes a crime of collective punishment aimed at undermining UNRWA's mandate in the occupied Palestinian territories, granted to it in accordance with relevant General Assembly resolutions, and ending its historical role as a political witness to the right of return, as a prelude to liquidating the refugee issue. Palestinians.
In its statement, the department called on the United Nations to protect UNRWA's mandate in its five areas of operation, particularly in occupied East Jerusalem, and to take immediate "deterrent measures" to compel the occupying power to comply with international law, cease implementing its laws, respect UNRWA's facilities, mandate, and immunities, and abide by its relevant resolutions and the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice issued on October 22, 2015, adopted by the UN General Assembly. This opinion unequivocally affirmed Israel's legal obligations as an occupying power in the occupied Palestinian territory, especially towards UNRWA, its right to carry out its humanitarian tasks without hindrance, and the respect for the privileges and immunities enjoyed by UNRWA, UN agencies, and their staff, and the prohibition of interfering with its work or property.
