Overview
- Police units and Israel Land Authority crews used bulldozers to enter the Sheikh Jarrah compound and began tearing down buildings.
- The land agency said it has taken possession of the roughly 4.6-hectare site to place it under state administration and re-plan it for public use.
- UNRWA’s leadership condemned the operation as an unprecedented attack and a breach of UN privileges and international law.
- Israel asserts the state owns the property and that the seizure complies with Israeli and international law, and officials said no UN staff were on site.
- The move follows a 2024 Knesset law barring UNRWA, a December police incursion at the compound, and Israeli claims of Hamas infiltration that prompted UN reviews of a small number of staff.