lhe Israel Land Authority (ATI) has informed the UN Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) that it must vacate the premises at its headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem within 30 days, after approving the demand presented by the Israeli Minister of Housing, the ultra-Orthodox Yitzhak Goldknopf.
In a letter sent to UNRWA on Tuesday, the ATI wrote that The agency owes him a sum of more than 27 million shekels (about 7 million euros) to operate on lands belonging to Israel “without consent for the last seven years”, Hebrew media report.
Minister Goldknopf reported that the measure, which he himself first requested in February from the ATI, had received the green light from his ministry’s legal advisor.
A Palestinian woman walks past a damaged wall bearing the UNRWA logo at a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.
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“If you do not comply, the ATI reserves the right to respond with all legal means, and you will have to assume the costs that this entails. No other warning will be sent,” the letter adds.
The agency is required to immediately stop any illegal use, destroy anything built in violation of the law, clear the land of any person or item
(You can read: Antony Blinken demands Israel a plan for ‘the day after’ in Gaza after an attack on the displaced persons camp in Rafah)
In fact, Goldknopf, leader of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, accused UNRWA of having “acted in the service of” Hamas and even participated in the brutal massacre of October 7.
Since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, UNRWA has been in the crosshairs of Israel, which accused a dozen agency employees of participating in the Hamas attacks of October 7 and alleges that more than two hundreds of its staff have ties to Islamists; and does not hide his intention to close it.
A Palestinian woman carries a sign that reads in Arabic “76 years since the anniversary of Nakba Day, UNRWA is our right until we return” during a protest in solidarity with Gaza and UNRWA employees organized by Palestinian forces and Islamic protests in front of the UNRWA offices in Beirut.
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In recent weeks, Israeli extremists have attacked the UNRWA headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem on several occasions, forcing the agency to temporarily close its headquarters.
This Monday, the foreign ministers of the European Union agreed to ask Israel to hold a Association Council, the main platform that the two parties have to address their relations.
(We recommend: What motivates Israel to continue fighting in Gaza despite strong international pressure?)
Although, in order to carry it out, the Israeli authorities must first accept and the 27 countries must agree on a common position for the meeting.
Thus, the Council was in favor of dealing with Israel on issues such as complying with the request of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to immediately stop its military operation in southern Gaza, and to unblock funds for the Palestinian Authority in order to do so. to avoid suffocation and enable the work of the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
*With information from EFE
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