‘No immunity’An Israeli foreign ministry statement defended the demolitions and said “the State of Israel owns the Jerusalem compound”. “UNRWA-Hamas had already ceased its operations at this site and no longer had any UN personnel or UN activity there,” the foreign ministry said. Although the UNRWA ban applies in east Jerusalem because of its annexation by Israel, the agency still operates in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. The Saudi foreign ministry also voiced its “strongest condemnation”. The UNRWA compound was a prison during the time of the Ottoman Empire, and later became property of the Jordanian Government, which subsequently transferred it to UNRWA.

Source: New Zealand Herald January 20, 2026 22:07 UTC