Israeli police forcibly entered the compound of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in East Jerusalem early on Monday, escalating a campaign against an organisation that has been banned from operating on Israeli territory. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, said in a statement that “sizeable numbers” of Israeli forces, including police, trucks and forklifts, entered the compound in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah and cut communications to the compound.
“The unauthorised and forceful entry by Israeli security forces is an unacceptable violation of UNRWA’s privileges and immunities as a UN agency,” the agency said. Police said in a statement they entered for a “debt-collection procedure” spearheaded by Jerusalem’s municipal Government, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
