Two men stand near fallen cables next to a damaged building at the Jerusalem headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees as the headquarters is dismantled by Israeli forces, in East Jerusalem, on January 20, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
United Kingdom and its allies, including France and Canada, on Wednesday (January 28, 2026) strongly condemned the demolition last week by Israeli authorities of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency’s (UNRWA) East Jerusalem compound.
The group, in a joint statement, called on the government of Israel to halt all demolitions.
The statement was published on the British government website on behalf of Foreign Ministers from U.K., Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Portugal and Spain.
“This unprecedented act against a United Nations agency by a U.N. Member State marks the latest unacceptable move to undermine their ability to operate. We urge the Government of Israel to abide by its international obligations to ensure the protection and inviolability of United Nations premises in accordance with the provisions of the UN General Convention (1946) and the Charter. We call upon the Government of Israel, a member of the United Nations, to halt all demolitions,” read the statement.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on January 20, 2025, that the demolition was following through on a new law that banned the organisation, accusing it of ties to militant groups and Hamas.
(With inputs from Reuters, AP)
Published – January 29, 2026 07:26 am IST
