U.N. Aid agency shuts Jerusalem headquarters after Israelis set fire in compound

The main United Nations aid agency for Palestinians temporarily closed its headquarters in East Jerusalem after Israeli locals set fire to areas at the edge of the sprawling compound, the agency said Thursday.

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNWRA, said in a post on the social media platform X that he had decided to close the compound until “proper security” was restored.

He said Thursday’s incident was the second in less than a week.

The main United Nations aid agency for Palestinians temporarily closed its headquarters in East Jerusalem after Israeli locals set fire to areas at the edge of the sprawling compound, the agency said Thursday.

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNWRA, said in a post on the social media platform X that he had decided to close the compound until “proper security” was restored.

He said Thursday’s incident was the second in less than a week.

Bomb shelters make good neighborsKeep WatchingSkip Ad

“This is an outrageous development. Once again, the lives of UN staff were at a serious risk,” he said.

Lazzarini described how “a crowd accompanied by armed men were witnessed outside the compound chanting ‘Burn down the United Nations’.”

UNRWA, set up to deal with the Palestinian refugees who fled or were forced from their homes during the 1948 war around the time of Israel’s creation, has long been a target of Israeli hostility. Calls for it to be shuttered have risen since the agency reported that around a dozen staffers had taken part in the October 7 atrocities, citing Israeli intelligence. The revelation, accompanied by Israeli claims that thousands more staffers have ties to terror groups, re-energized protests against the agency as donors pulled back funding.