On Thursday, the Israeli military demolished the office of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem, a city in the northern West Bank, according to local sources. Nehad al-Shaweeh, head of a local service committee in the camp, told Anadolu Agency, “Israeli bulldozers destroyed the building where the UN agency provided daily services to residents.”
The office had sustained partial damage from previous Israeli raids but was completely demolished in this latest operation, al-Shaweeh added.
This demolition occurred three days after Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed legislation banning UNRWA from operating within its jurisdiction, a measure set to impact the agency’s work in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. The law will take effect in 90 days. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini condemned the ban, calling it “unprecedented and dangerous” and asserting that it violates the UN Charter.
The Nur Shams camp includes two UNRWA-run schools and a health center, according to the Palestinian official news agency, Wafa. Earlier on Thursday, the Health Ministry reported that an Israeli drone strike in the camp killed two Palestinians, including a child.
Tensions across the West Bank have been heightened amid Israel’s offensive on Gaza, which has resulted in over 43,100 deaths, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last year. Since then, 766 Palestinians have been killed, and approximately 6,300 injured by Israeli forces in the West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported.
