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STORY: UN / UNRWA DEMOLITION COMPOUND
TRT: 02:41
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 20 JANUARY 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
1. Wide shot, UN headquarters
2. Wide shot, spokesperson Farhan Haq at the dais
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“I have the following statement about today’s attack, raid in East Jerusalem. The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli authorities’ actions to demolish the UNRWA Sheikh Jarrah compound. As he has repeatedly and unequivocally stated, including in his letter to the Prime Minister of Israel on 8 January 2026, the Sheikh Jarrah compound remains United Nations premises, and is inviolable and immune from any form of interference. The Secretary-General views as wholly unacceptable the continued escalatory actions against UNRWA, which are inconsistent with Israel’s clear obligations under international law, including under the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. The Secretary-General urges the Government of Israel to immediately cease the demolition of the UNRWA Sheikh Jarrah compound, and to return and restore the compound and other UNRWA premises to the United Nations without delay.”
4. Med shot, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“UNRWA leased its compound in East Jerusalem from Jordan in 1952. UNRWA has remained in exclusive possession of the compound without interruption until 1967 and continuously thereafter since Israel occupied the territory. Israel's occupation has been determined by the International Court of Justice to be unlawful. The ICJ and the UN General Assembly have directed that Israel's unlawful presence in East Jerusalem must end. The compound's a UN facility, and it's therefore inviolable under the convention on privileges and immunities of the United Nations, which all UN member states are obliged to respect without exception.”
6. Medium shot, journalist asking a question
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“All of this is not to be tolerated, whether we're talking about destruction of UN premises, whether we're talking about the complete lack of cooperation with an entire UN agency despite repeated entreaties, including by the general assembly and by the International Court of Justice. We're talking about threats being made to UNRWA staff members, and this is a time when more than 370 of our UNRWA colleagues have been killed over the past two years. None of this should be accepted by anyone in the international community, and we hope the member states will support us fully on this.”
8. Wide shot, end of press briefing
“The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli authorities’ actions to demolish the UNRWA Sheikh Jarrah compound,” a UN spokesperson said.
The United Nations said the compound in East Jerusalem remains UN premises and is “inviolable and immune from any form of interference,” despite Israeli authorities moving to demolish the site.
Briefing reporters in New York today (20 Jan), Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said the Secretary-General has raised the issue repeatedly, including in a letter to Israel’s prime minister earlier this month, stressing that the actions against the UNRWA compound violate international law.
Haq said the continued escalation against UNRWA is “inconsistent with Israel’s clear obligations under international law, including under the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.”
He said UNRWA has leased the Sheikh Jarrah compound since 1952 and has remained in uninterrupted possession of the site, including after Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967.
Haq said Israel’s occupation has been determined by the International Court of Justice to be unlawful, adding that both the ICJ and the UN General Assembly have directed that Israel’s unlawful presence in East Jerusalem must end.
The spokesperson said the Secretary-General is urging Israel to “immediately cease the demolition of the UNRWA Sheikh Jarrah compound,” and to “return and restore the compound and other UNRWA premises to the United Nations without delay.”
Haq said the situation reflects ongoing challenges facing the agency, including threats directed at staff and what he described as a lack of cooperation with UNRWA, despite repeated appeals by the General Assembly and the International Court of Justice.
“All of this is not to be tolerated,” Haq said, noting that more than 370 UNRWA staff members have been killed over the past two years. “None of this should be accepted by anyone in the international community, and we hope the member states will support us fully on this.”
