Israel evacuates UN agency center in East Jerusalem amid Hamas accusations

Israeli forces on Tuesday began evacuating the premises of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in a suburb of East Jerusalem. Palestinian authorities condemned the operation, calling it a serious violation of international law, according to foreign press agencies. Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces reportedly occurred during the operation.

This action represents the latest in a series of measures by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government against the UN agency. Israel accuses UNRWA of collaborating with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. Netanyahu, who ordered the center's evacuation, stated that "the State of Israel will not allow an organization whose employees were involved in terrorism and the massacre of October 7 to operate on its territory and will act against it with all the means at its disposal."

Israel has repeatedly accused UNRWA of harboring Hamas fighters, claiming some of its employees participated in Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza. Following these accusations, the Israeli parliament passed legislation preventing the UN agency from operating within Israel since January last year. In East Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel since 1967, Israeli forces had already demolished the UNRWA headquarters in January.

The evacuation followed warnings from UNRWA that Israeli authorities were threatening the center. The agency established the center in 1952, providing vocational training annually to about 340 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank. Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a photo of the center with an Israeli flag flying, and Israeli officials announced plans to open a school for boys in the building, following the Israeli curriculum. A spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry asserted that UNRWA has no ownership rights over the property.

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the State of Israel will not allow an organization whose employees were involved in terrorism and the massacre of October 7 to operate on its territory and will act against it with all the means at its disposal.