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Israel Demands UNRWA Cease Activities in East Jerusalem by January 30
View of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) building in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib / Flash90.
i24 News – Israel has officially demanded that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) cease all activities in East Jerusalem within six days.
The directive, conveyed in a letter from Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, calls for the agency to vacate its premises in the city by January 30.
This marks the enforcement of legislation passed by the Knesset in October 2024 that bans UNRWA’s operations within Israel’s jurisdiction.
In his letter, Danon justified the action by citing serious national security risks, alleging that Hamas and other terrorist organizations have infiltrated the ranks of UNRWA. “This decision is a response to the grave danger posed by the widespread infiltration of terrorist organizations into UNRWA’s structures and operations. UNRWA has consistently refused to address these critical concerns raised by Israel,” Danon wrote.
The ambassador underscored Israel’s readiness to cooperate with other UN agencies not implicated by similar security threats. “Israel remains committed to international law and is prepared to work collaboratively with the United Nations and its agencies, provided they are free from the influence of terrorist organizations,” Danon added.
The Knesset’s legislation, passed in late October 2024, explicitly prohibits UNRWA from operating within Israeli territory and bars Israeli officials from engaging with the agency’s personnel. This move represents a significant escalation in Israel’s long-standing critique of UNRWA, which it accuses of perpetuating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and fostering anti-Israel sentiment.
Israel has also raised concerns about the misuse of UNRWA facilities, claiming they have been used for incitement against Israel and, in some cases, to store weapons or facilitate militant activities. These allegations have fueled a broader campaign by Israeli officials to diminish UNRWA’s presence in the region.
The UNRWA was established in 1949 to provide assistance to Palestinian refugees displaced during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Over the decades, its mandate has expanded to include education, health care, and social services for millions of Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. However, critics argue that its operations have become politicized and that it has failed to contribute to resolving the refugee issue.
The UN has yet to formally respond to Israel’s demand. It remains unclear how this directive will impact the refugees reliant on UNRWA’s services in East Jerusalem, where the agency runs schools, clinics, and other critical facilities.
The post Israel Demands UNRWA Cease Activities in East Jerusalem by January 30 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Readies for a Nationwide Strike on Sunday
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – The families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza are calling on for a general strike to be held on Sunday in an effort to compel the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a deal with Hamas for the release of their loved ones and a ceasefire. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, of whom 20 are believed to be alive.
The October 7 Council and other groups representing bereaved families of hostages and soldiers who fell since the start of the war declared they were “shutting down the country to save the soldiers and the hostages.”
While many businesses said they would join the strike, Israel’s largest labor federation, the Histadrut, has declined to participate.
Some of the country’s top educational institutions, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University, declared their support for the strike.
“We, the members of the university’s leadership, deans, and department heads, hereby announce that on Sunday, each and every one of us will participate in a personal strike as a profound expression of solidarity with the hostage families,” the Hebrew University’s deal wrote to students.
The day will begin at 6:29 AM, to commemorate the start of the October 7 attack, with the first installation at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. Further demonstrations are planned at dozens of traffic intersections.
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Netanyahu ‘Has Become a Problem,’Says Danish PM as She Calls for Russia-Style Sanctions Against Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
i24 News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become a “problem,” his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen said Saturday, adding she would try to put pressure on Israel over the Gaza war.
“Netanyahu is now a problem in himself,” Frederiksen told Danish media, adding that the Israeli government is going “too far” and lashing out at the “absolutely appalling and catastrophic” humanitarian situation in Gaza and announced new homes in the West Bank.
“We are one of the countries that wants to increase pressure on Israel, but we have not yet obtained the support of EU members,” she said, specifying she referred to “political pressure, sanctions, whether against settlers, ministers, or even Israel as a whole.”
“We are not ruling anything out in advance. Just as with Russia, we are designing the sanctions to target where we believe they will have the greatest effect.”
The devastating war in Gaza began almost two years ago, with an incursion into Israel of thousands of Palestinian armed jihadists, who perpetrated the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
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As Alaska Summit Ends With No Apparent Progress, Zelensky to Meet Trump on Monday
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at the press conference after the opening session of Crimea Platform conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 August 2023. The Crimea Platform – is an international consultation and coordination format initiated by Ukraine. OLEG PETRASYUK/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – After US President Donald Trump hailed the “great progress” made during a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he was set to meet Trump on Monday at the White House.
“There were many, many points that we agreed on, most of them, I would say, a couple of big ones that we haven’t quite gotten there, but we’ve made some headway,” Trump told reporters during a joint press conference after the meeting.
Many observers noted, however, that the subsequent press conference was a relatively muted affair compared to the pomp and circumstance of the red carpet welcome, and the summit produced no tangible progress.
Trump and Putin spoke briefly, with neither taking questions, and offered general statements about an “understanding” and “progress.”
Putin, who spoke first, agreed with Trump’s long-repeated assertion that Russia never would have invaded Ukraine in 2022 had Trump been president instead of Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump said “many points were agreed to” and that “just a very few” issues were left to resolve, offering no specifics and making no reference to the ceasefire he’s been seeking.