Israel to Cut Off Water and Electricity to UNRWA Headquarters in East Jerusalem

JAKARTA - Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said on Wednesday he would personally oversee the cutting off of water and electricity supplies to the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem.

Cohen said in a press conference, "I am now on my way to East Jerusalem to personally witness the cutting off of water and electricity supplies to its headquarters (UNRWA)," as reported by WAFA (4/2).

Cohen himself accused the UN agency of "functioning as Hamas's arm," a claim that has been repeatedly denied by UNRWA, Anadolu quoted.

It is known that the Israeli Knesset (parliament) ordered the supply of water and electricity to the UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem by the end of 2025, after previously deciding to ban the organization from operating in Jerusalem and the Israeli occupation wilaya by the end of 2024.

Israel forced UNRWA to evacuate its main headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem in early 2025, before seizing the site and starting demolition work.

UNRWA was established in 1949 through a vote of the UN General Assembly and was mandated to provide assistance and protection to Palestinian refugees in five areas of operation: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza.