Israel Orders UNRWA To Empty Office In East Jerusalem

JAKARTA - The Israeli Land Authority ordered the UN Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) to vacate its headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem within 30 days, Israeli media reported.

According to the news website of the Times of Israel, the Israeli Land Authority said UNRWA owed them "a total of 7.3 million US dollars (Rp 118.7 billion) for operating on Israeli land without permission over the past seven years."

The move follows the request of Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf to displace UNRWA in February.

As reported by ANTARA from Anadolu, Thursday, May 30, actions against UNRWA were seen as politically motivated, as Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had long sought to dissolve UNRWA from operating in occupied Palestinian territories.

There has been no response from UNRWA or UN officials regarding this matter.

UNRWA was founded based on UN resolution in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to refugees in its five operational areas, namely Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.