THE MINISTER FOR Foreign Affairs has condemned Israel’s destruction of buildings belonging to a United Nations agency “delivering life-saving assistance” in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Helen McEntee said the the bulldozing of buildings at the headquarters in east Jerusalem by Israeli authorities earlier this week represented part of a “sustained effort to undermine” the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). 

The commissioner-general of UNRWA said it was an “open and deliberate defiance of international law” by Israel.

UN installations are inviolable under international law. 

Earlier this week, Philippe Lazzarini said Israeli forces stormed the UNRWA headquarters and began demolishing buildings inside the compound in East Jerusalem, which is not located within Israel’s borders but has been occupied since 1967.

He said it was an unprecedented attack against a UN agency and its premises.

UN Secretary General António Guterres also condemned the action.

Lazzarini said it followed other steps taken by Israeli authorities to “erase the Palestine refugee identity”.

Both Lazzarini and UN chief António Guterres were banned from entering Israel in 2023.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said UNRWA “long ceased to be a humanitarian aid organization, serving instead as a greenhouse for Hamas terrorism”.

Israel has repeatedly accused UNRWA and other NGOs of harbouring “terrorists” among their staff, which has been put forward as a justification for actions taken against them.

McEntee said she was “appalled by the further destructive actions taken by Israeli authorities”

In a statement, she said: “These actions are not isolated incidents. They form part of a wider and sustained effort to undermine and dismantle UNRWA’s operations across the occupied Palestinian territory.

Ireland fully supports UNRWA and its mandate.

“I call on Israel to immediately halt all attacks and measures directed at the agency. Israel must respect international law, including the privileges and immunities of the United Nations and its staff.”

Last week, McEntee announced Ireland would give UNRWA €20 million as part of a total €42 million in support for aid agencies supporting Palestinians. 

She said: “At a time of immense and worsening humanitarian need, the work of UNRWA, alongside other UN agencies, humanitarian organisations and NGOs, is indispensable.

“These organisations are delivering life-saving assistance and essential services to civilians across the occupied Palestinian territory and the wider region.

“Any actions that obstruct this work only deepen the humanitarian crisis and place civilian lives at even greater risk.

“International law is clear: humanitarian aid workers, along with journalists and medics, must be protected in times of conflict. It is unacceptable that they continue to be killed while trying to help others while carrying out their important roles.”