Türkiye has condemned Israel’s raid on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) headquarters in the occupied East Jerusalem and its seizure of the building.
“We condemn Israel’s raid on the UNRWA building located in occupied East Jerusalem and its seizure of the facility,” the statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
The ministry stressed that Israel’s actions targeting a UN building with diplomatic immunity constitute a clear violation of international law.
It recalled that the International Court of Justice, in its advisory opinion dated October 22, 2025, clearly underlined Israel’s obligation as an occupying power not to obstruct the UNRWA’s activities and, on the contrary, to facilitate them.
Emphasising that the UNRWA provides indispensable services to Palestinian refugees and plays a key role in protecting their right of return, the statement said the agency’s continued operations are vital for efforts to achieve lasting peace.
“The international community must take deterrent measures against Israel’s unlawful practices and support UNRWA,” it added.
Israeli forces on Monday raided the agency’s headquarters in the occupied East Jerusalem. They removed the United Nations flag from the compound and raised the Israeli flag in its place.
UNRWA’s mandate
Funded by voluntary contributions from UN member states, the UNRWA has served as the main provider of humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees since 1950, delivering food, health care, education, and shelter.
The agency supports some six million Palestinian refugees.
Over its 75 years of work, UNRWA’s facilities have repeatedly been struck by Israel, with tonnes of food and medicine destroyed.
Israel launched a propaganda campaign to discredit UNRWA in October 2023 in parallel with its attacks on Gaza, claiming that 14 of the agency’s 12,000 employees in Gaza “took part in the October 7 attacks” and arguing that the agency should be shut down.
Tel Aviv’s decision to terminate UNRWA activities in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem took effect on February 1.
