Eleven countries have condemned Israel’s demolition of the East Jerusalem headquarters of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, saying it “marks the latest unacceptable move to undermine” UNRWA’s work.In a joint statement on Wednesday, the foreign ministers of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom slammed the demolition as an “unprecedented act” against a UN agency.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“We call upon the Government of Israel, a member of the United Nations, to halt all demolitions,” they said.Israel has carried out an intensified pressure campaign against UNRWA, which provides aid and services to Palestinian refugees across the Middle East, amid the country’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.Without concrete evidence, the Israeli government and its allies, including the United States, have accused UNRWA of being linked to Hamas – a claim rejected by the UN.Israel has used those allegations to try to restrict UNRWA’s ability to operate in Gaza, despite humanitarian leaders noting that the agency is best equipped to distribute food, water, medicine and other critical humanitarian aid in the war-ravaged enclave.In late 2024, Israel’s parliament passed legislation barring UNRWA from operating in areas under Israeli control.Israeli lawmakers approved amendments in December of last year to strengthen that prohibition, drawing condemnation from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.Last week, UNRWA reported that Israeli forces, under the watch of Israeli lawmakers, stormed its East Jerusalem headquarters and began demolishing buildings. Advertisement “This constitutes an unprecedented attack against a United Nations agency & its prem …
