Israeli Forces Dismantle UNRWA Headquarters as New Documentary Exposes Hamas Ties

Israeli bulldozers razed structures at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) headquarters in Jerusalem on Tuesday, implementing legislation passed last year that bans the agency’s operations on Israeli territory. The demolition comes amid growing scrutiny of UNRWA’s alleged connections to Hamas terrorists.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini condemned the move as a violation of international law, while Israeli officials maintained that the compound was not in active use and that the demolition was conducted in accordance with Israeli law.

The incident follows the United Nations General Assembly’s recent vote to renew UNRWA’s mandate through 2029, despite increasing opposition. Ten countries voted against the renewal with 18 abstentions, a significant shift from 2022 when only one country opposed with ten abstentions.

A newly released documentary titled “UNraveling UNRWA” is intensifying the debate around the agency’s operations and alleged ties to Hamas. The film examines UNRWA’s history since its establishment in 1949 and features interviews with refugees, Arab and Israeli voices, and former UNRWA officials.

James Lindsay, a former UNRWA legal adviser who appears in the documentary, told Fox News Digital that the agency faces systemic problems, particularly regarding its operations in Gaza where Hamas exerts significant control.

“The main problem in oversight has to do likely at the ground level where the local authorities, in this case we’re talking about Gaza, so we’re talking about Hamas,” Lindsay explained. “The people who work for UNRWA are subject, yes, to UNRWA, but they are even more importantly subject to the local authorities.”

Lindsay described a concerning environment where UNRWA staff face severe pressure from Hamas, creating incentives to comply with terrorist demands rather than risk retaliation.

“If Hamas comes to you and says, we would like maybe 5% of the concrete you’re using, or maybe you need to show 5% more food was distributed than actually was, you’re not going to say no,” he said. “If you don’t do what Hamas says, you’re not going to get fired. You’re going to have very bad things happen to you.”

The documentary also highlights concerning educational practices in UNRWA schools. In footage shown in the film, classroom lessons instruct children they will one day return to land inside Israel. In one scene, Jews are referred to as “the wolves,” and a teacher asks elementary students, “What did the Jews do to us?” before telling them they were expelled and deported, and their families were killed.

Last week, Fox News Digital reported that UNRWA USA acknowledged that the Trump administration is considering designating UNRWA as a foreign terrorist organization. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters in Israel last October, reiterated the administration’s policy: “The United Nations is here. They’re on the ground. We’re willing to work with them if they can make it work, but not UNRWA. UNRWA became a subsidiary of Hamas.”

During the ongoing war in Gaza, the Israeli military has discovered weapons, tunnel shafts, and other Hamas infrastructure in UNRWA facilities, including schools. Israeli authorities have also provided videos allegedly showing UNRWA employees participating in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack. Those allegations remain under investigation, and UNRWA has stated it dismissed several staff members following the claims.

Lindsay, who initially believed UNRWA could be reformed, now believes the agency’s structure makes meaningful change impossible. “It can’t be reformed in the sense that it’s not allowed to reform by the governmental people in charge,” he said.

The documentary argues that UNRWA has promoted UN General Assembly Resolution 194, a 1948 measure which Palestinians interpret as granting refugees and their descendants the right to return to homes inside Israel, perpetuating refugee status rather than resolving it.

Zlatko Zigic, former director of the UN migration agency from 1997 to 2017, states in the film that “the problem of UNRWA is the concept of endless struggle of Palestinians to return,” adding that maintaining a right of return to Israel has “become a tool to perpetuate the conflict.”

While UNRWA maintains broad support among UN member states, Lindsay noted that these supporters are not the agency’s primary funders. “The vast majority of countries in the UN are anti-West and are certainly pro-UNRWA,” he said. “But donors are the ones that count because the money all comes from voluntary donations, largely by Western countries, the same countries that are becoming nervous. And that is, I think, a real threat to the continuation of UNRWA.”