ICSPR The Storming and Demolition of UNRWA Facilities in Jerusalem and the Escalation of Occupation Crimes in Gaza and the West Bank Violate International Legitimacy and Pose a Direct Threat to the Ceasefire

Date: 25 August 2026

Press Release

ICSPR: The Storming and Demolition of UNRWA Facilities in Jerusalem and the Escalation of Occupation Crimes in Gaza and the West Bank Violate International Legitimacy and Pose a Direct Threat to the Ceasefire

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) condemns in the strongest terms the storming by Israeli occupation forces of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Training Centre in Qalandiya Camp, north of occupied Jerusalem. The occupation forces expelled staff members and raised the Israeli flag inside the facility, while beginning procedures to evacuate the UNRWA compound in Kafr Aqab.

These actions were accompanied by the use of gas and live ammunition by occupation forces and assaults against journalists in the vicinity of the facility. This constitutes a direct attack on a United Nations institution that enjoys the immunities granted to the Organisation under international law. What occurred therefore represents a direct challenge to the United Nations Charter, international immunities and privileges, rulings of the International Court of Justice, and international law.

ICSPR considers that the statements of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the commencement of the evacuation of the UNRWA compound in Kafr Aqab, and attempts to justify this through allegations concerning Agency staff, provide the occupation with no legal basis to seize, evacuate, or demolish United Nations facilities. These measures come in addition to the prohibition of UNRWA’s work and the deprivation of thousands of refugees of its services.

The Commission warns that targeting UNRWA in Jerusalem goes beyond the issue of facilities and services. It represents a systematic attempt to eliminate the international dimension of the Palestinian refugee issue. UNRWA was established by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, and its mandate cannot be abolished or altered through unilateral measures by an occupying power.

ICSPR notes that the targeted training centre provides vocational-training services to approximately 320 male and female students from refugee camps in the West Bank. Its storming and the disruption of its work therefore constitute an attack on refugees’ rights to education, vocational training, and basic services, rather than merely a political dispute over the Agency’s work.

ICSPR affirms that these attacks come within a broader context of escalation in Jerusalem and the West Bank. The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission recorded 4,113 settler attacks during the first seven months of 2026, an increase of 1,589 attacks, or 63%, compared with 2,524 attacks during the same period in 2025.

Settler attacks reached 748 incidents in June and 798 in July, compared with 442 and 466 incidents, respectively, during the same months of the previous year. The Commission considers that these figures, alongside incursions, settlement construction, attacks against Palestinians, holy sites, and national symbols, confirm the escalation of a policy of imposing facts on the ground and gradually annexing Palestinian territory under the protection of occupation forces.

ICSPR condemns the continuing attacks against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Jerusalem, including terrorist attacks carried out by settlers, assaults against journalists near the Qalandiya Institute, incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and manifestations of the forcible imposition of control.

The Commission considers that these practices form part of an integrated system targeting Palestinian presence, institutions, and rights. It affirms that continued impunity encourages the occupation and settlers to expand the scope of their violations.

ICSPR expresses grave concern over the simultaneous transfer of escalation to the Gaza Strip, where occupation forces continue airstrikes, artillery bombardment, gunfire, and attacks against homes and displaced persons’ tents, in a continuing violation of the ceasefire agreement.

According to the latest health data, Gaza Strip hospitals received nine martyrs and 36 injuries during the past 24 hours. The number of Palestinians killed since the beginning of the ceasefire has risen to 1,296, with 4,296 injuries and 814 recovered bodies. The cumulative toll since 7 October 2023 has reached 73,431 killed and 174,437 injured, while victims remain under the rubble and in roads because ambulance and civil-defence teams face difficulties reaching them.

The Commission affirms that the scale of occupation violations of the ceasefire agreement demonstrates that the matter can no longer be linked to isolated incidents. Announced data indicate 4,379 violations since the agreement began, resulting in 1,286 deaths, 4,257 injuries, and 180 arrests. Meanwhile, 813 bodies have been recovered out of more than 8,000 martyrs who remain beneath the rubble.

Only 66,607 aid trucks have entered the Gaza Strip out of 189,000 trucks that should have entered by this date, representing a compliance rate of only 35%. In addition, only 11,759 travellers have been permitted to travel out of 29,800 who should have been allowed to do so, representing a compliance rate of 39%. This reflects the continuing restrictions on movement and humanitarian assistance despite the agreement being in force.

ICSPR particularly condemns the targeting and destruction of the water desalination plant in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City. This comes as municipalities in northern Gaza warn of a worsening water crisis and the population’s entry into a stage of severe thirst.

Approximately 60% of municipal generators and water stations are out of service, preventing the operation of water wells and sewage facilities. The occupation also continues to prevent the entry of pumps, desalination plants, spare parts, fuel, and operational and maintenance supplies.

The Commission considers that the destruction of water facilities and essential services amid these catastrophic humanitarian conditions threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians, increases the risks of disease and epidemics, and requires an independent investigation and international accountability.

ICSPR warns of the danger of turning kites and balloons into a pretext for launching a broad military operation, carrying out extrajudicial assassinations, and expanding forced displacement and evacuation operations.

The Commission also condemns the targeting of places of worship and civilian and service facilities in the Gaza Strip. According to the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, the occupation has targeted 1,244 mosques out of 1,275 mosques in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the aggression, including 1,077 mosques completely destroyed.

This includes the targeting of the historic Abu Salim Mosque in Deir al-Balah, the Asqalan prayer hall in Al-Shati Camp, and damage to the Al-Radwan Mosque prayer hall. ICSPR affirms that this scale of destruction requires investigation into the pattern of targeting and the extent of respect for international humanitarian law rules protecting places of worship and civilian objects.

The Commission considers that the simultaneous developments in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza reveal one course aimed at Palestinian people, land, institutions, and the means of life.

From the targeting of UNRWA and attempts to undermine its role in Jerusalem, to the escalation of settlement construction and settler attacks in the West Bank, and finally to bombardment, the targeting of vital facilities, and threats to civilians in Gaza, an integrated policy is taking shape based on imposing facts on the ground by force and undermining the foundations of Palestinian resilience.

ICSPR affirms that treating each incident as an isolated event helps conceal the broader picture and grants the occupation greater space to evade accountability.

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights calls on the UN Secretary-General, the Security Council, the General Assembly, and UN Member States to take urgent measures to protect United Nations facilities and staff, ensure respect for the immunities granted to them, halt occupation measures against UNRWA in Jerusalem, and prevent these facilities from being converted into properties or sites under the forcible control of the occupation.

The Commission also calls for ensuring that UNRWA can continue to fulfil its mandate and provide services to Palestinian refugees, affirming that the future of the Agency cannot be decided through a unilateral decision by the occupying state.

ICSPR calls on mediators and states guaranteeing the ceasefire agreement to assume their political and legal responsibilities, compel the occupation to halt all violations and fully implement the agreement, and prevent allegations regarding kites or other matters from becoming a pretext for reigniting the war or imposing mass evacuations.

It also calls for the establishment of an effective and independent mechanism to monitor the ceasefire, investigate violations, and hold those responsible accountable in order to prevent the collapse of the agreement.

The Commission calls on the international community to ensure the entry of humanitarian assistance, fuel, medical supplies, civil-defence equipment, and spare parts necessary for water, electricity, and sanitation systems. It also calls for enabling ambulance and civil-defence teams to reach victims and recover martyrs from beneath the rubble.

ICSPR affirms that this is a legal obligation incumbent upon the occupying power and not a privilege that may be granted or withheld for political purposes.

The Commission stresses the need for an international investigation into crimes and violations committed in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, including the targeting of civilians, civilian objects, United Nations facilities, places of worship, and vital installations, as well as forced displacement, evacuation operations, and colonial settlement construction.

It calls for those responsible to be prosecuted before the International Criminal Court in order to ensure that impunity does not continue.

ICSPR warns that the continuing international failure and reliance on statements of concern and condemnation, while the Israeli occupation moves from one crime to another, encourages the expansion of international crimes and undermines the authority of international law and the United Nations system itself.

Protecting civilians and United Nations institutions cannot be achieved through statements alone, but requires effective political and legal deterrent measures, including the imposition of sanctions on the Israeli occupying state. These measures must ensure respect for international law and international obligations and halt the crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and attacks against UNRWA.

ICSPR affirms that the targeting of UNRWA in Jerusalem, the escalation of settlement construction in the West Bank, and the continuing aggression in Gaza are not separate files. They are interconnected components of one course aimed at the national and human rights of the Palestinian people.

Accordingly, the international community must work seriously to end the aggression, protect UNRWA, consolidate the ceasefire in Gaza, prevent forced displacement, halt colonial settlement construction and annexation, guarantee the flow of humanitarian assistance, hold perpetrators of international crimes accountable before international courts, and open a serious political process to end the occupation and guarantee the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, freedom, and independence.