The Israel Lands Authority has issued an eviction notice to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), demanding the agency vacate its premises in east Jerusalem and pay more than 27.1 million shekels ($7.29 million) in back rent. This directive follows a three-month review initiated by Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, aimed at potentially removing the agency for political and security reasons.
The review unveiled a method to terminate UNRWA’s longstanding contract. The Israel Lands Authority’s legal counsel stated in a letter that UNRWA has been occupying 36 dunams (approximately 9 acres) of land without consent since it was expropriated by the state in 2006. The agency is also accused of constructing buildings on the land without permission. The letter orders UNRWA to “cease any use of the land and demolish what was illegally built on it.” UNRWA has been given 30 days to comply.
This eviction notice is part of broader efforts by Israeli lawmakers to curtail UNRWA’s operations, citing its alleged connections to terrorist activities. On Wednesday, the Knesset passed a preliminary reading of a bill proposed by Yisrael Beitenu MK Yulia Malinovsky to designate UNRWA as a terrorist organization. The bill, which passed with a 42-6 majority, also seeks to abolish immunities and privileges for UNRWA employees.
This holiday season, give to:
Truth and understanding
The Media Line's intrepid correspondents are in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Pakistan providing first-person reporting.
They all said they cover it.
We see it.
We report with just one agenda: the truth.
If the bill passes its final reading, the Anti-Terrorism Law will apply to UNRWA, ceasing all ties with the agency and closing its assets in Israeli territory.
The impetus for this legislative action includes significant evidence of UNRWA’s affiliation with Hamas. This includes the discovery of Hamas tunnels beneath UNRWA schools and reports that UNRWA employees collaborated with Hamas during the October 7 massacre. On February 10, a tunnel shaft linked to Hamas’s military intelligence wing was found under UNRWA’s central headquarters in Gaza, containing weapons and other military supplies.
The Wall Street Journal reported on January 29, 2024, that an estimated 10% of UNRWA’s 12,000 employees are connected to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Six UNRWA workers were reportedly involved in the October 7 attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people.
UNRWA’s educational practices have also come under scrutiny. A report by UN Watch and IMPACT-se presented to the US Congress in March detailed evidence of incitement to violence and antisemitism in UNRWA’s hiring of teachers and use of curricula. Examples include a ninth-grade reading comprehension exercise that glorifies a firebombing attack on a bus carrying Jews and a social studies question that falsely blames Israel for causing diseases among Palestinians by turning areas into toxic landfills.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Phillipe Lazzarini has previously condemned such allegations, calling them irrational and politically motivated. UNRWA spokesperson Adnan Abu Hasnah responded to the eviction notice by warning that if UNRWA is forced out of Gaza, more extreme elements would take its place, asserting that UNRWA schools teach “democracy, human rights, and coexistence.”
Also on Wednesday, a bill, sponsored by Likud MK Dan Illouz, applying sanctions to banks that transfer funds to the Palestinian Authority passed a preliminary vote, after passing the Ministerial Committee for Legislation.