UNRWA is prohibited from operating in Israel, and Israeli government officials are barred from cooperating with the agency under legislation passed by the Knesset.
By David Israel, TPS
Israel security forces began demolishing a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) compound in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Kafr Aqab on Tuesday morning.
The facility had been used to manage the agency’s activities for Palestinian refugees in Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem.
Israeli officials said the move was long overdue. UNRWA has been under fire for years, with Israeli officials demanding that the agency be stripped of its authority and defunded amid revelations that members of its staff participated in Hamas’s October 7 attacks.
“Today is a day of celebration for everyone who values life and for everyone who cares about Jerusalem,” Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Aryeh King told TPS-IL.
“There are no longer Nazi UNRWA employees in Jerusalem.”
King confirmed to TPS-IL that Kobi Samerano was present for the Kafr Aqab operation.
His 21-year-old son, Yonatan, was a music producer who was at the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023.
He managed to flee but was killed at Kibbutz Beeri. His body was taken to Gaza by Faisal Ali Mussalem al-Naami, a UNRWA social worker.
Soldiers recovered Yonatan’s remains in June 2025.
UNRWA is prohibited from operating in Israel, and Israeli government officials are barred from cooperating with the agency under legislation passed by the Knesset.
Knesset member Yulia Malinovsky, who co-authored the legislation prohibiting UNRWA activities in Israel, said, “It is unfortunate that I had to go all the way to the Supreme Court to get the government to take action. I will remain vigilant and make sure that not only is UNRWA removed from Kafr Aqab, but that the State of Israel takes control of the area and asserts its sovereignty there.”
In 2025, Israeli police raided a separate UNRWA compound in western Jerusalem after years of unpaid property taxes.
Critics of the agency have also accused UNRWA of operating in ways that undermine Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem.
Palestinian refugees are the only refugee population with a dedicated U.N. agency.
Most other refugees worldwide fall under the mandate of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
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