JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces targeted at least two United Nations facilities Tuesday, advancing a crackdown on the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency tasked with providing humanitarian services to millions of people in the region.

The crew started bulldozing United Nations Relief and Works Agency It closed Sheikh Jarrah’s office and fired tear gas at a technical school in Qalandia, Israel’s latest and most dramatic step against UNRWA.

Roland Friedrich, the agency’s West Bank director, said UNRWA received word early Tuesday morning that demolition crews and police had arrived at its East Jerusalem headquarters. Staff have not been working outside the facility for almost a year for security reasons, but the Israeli military has confiscated equipment and forced out the private security guards hired to protect the facility.

“What we saw today is the culmination of two years of incitement and action against UNRWA in East Jerusalem,” Friedrich said, calling this a violation of international law guaranteeing the protection of such facilities.

He said the military also began firing tear gas at a vocational school for Palestinian youth on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Tuesday afternoon. More than 300 young refugees are receiving technical and welding vocational training there.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the demolition brought into force a new law banning UNRWA, noting that Israel owns the site and denying UNRWA’s claims that the move violated international law.

Israel has long alleged that the agency has anti-Israel bias, often with scant evidence. UNRWA says it employs and maintains relationships with extremist organizations, including Hamas. The United Nations vehemently denies such claims, and UNRWA has said it will act quickly to purge any suspected extremists among its staff.

UNRWA’s mission is to provide aid and services to approximately 2.5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and East Jerusalem, and an additional 3 million refugees in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. The group has maintained the refugee camp’s infrastructure, run schools, and provided medical care for many years. But that activity was curtailed last year when Israel’s parliament opened. passed bill sever ties and ban them from functioning in areas it defines as Israel, including East Jerusalem.

The agency said the demolition could jeopardize the operation of the vocational center in Qalandia. Surefat heath facilitycontinues to provide education and medical services.

An Israeli flag was seen flying over the facility in the Sheikh Jarrah area, and Israeli politicians also arrived at the scene to celebrate the organization’s fate. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called it a “historic day”.

The dissolution was the culmination of years of criticism from Israel and its leaders, who say UNRWA retains pro-Palestinian leanings and maintains ties with members of extremist organizations such as Hamas and with employees. Since the inception of israel-hamas war UNRWA has stepped up these attacks for more than two years, accusing it of being infiltrated by Hamas and saying the militants used its facilities to extort aid. Little evidence has been presented for this claim, which the United Nations denies. The International Court of Justice said in October that Israel: must be allowed Agencies providing humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

Since Israel passed a law banning the agency last year, Its facilities (schools and health centers) and its headquarters have repeatedly closedattacked or left unprotected. Israel claims the institution will perpetuate Palestinian rights. Refugee recognitionUNRWA supporters, meanwhile, said Israel’s attack on the agency was aimed at sidelining one of the most contentious issues dividing Israelis and Palestinians.

“This follows other steps taken by the Israeli authorities to erase the identity of Palestinian refugees,” UNRWA Director-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement on X. “This must be a wake-up call. What happened to UNRWA today will happen tomorrow to other international organizations and diplomatic missions, whether in the Occupied Palestinian Territories or anywhere in the world.”

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Israel’s ban on UNRWA coincided with a broader effort to deregister aid groups operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Israel has passed a law requiring non-governmental organizations not to employ staff involved in activities that “delegitimize Israel” or support boycotts, and requires names to be listed as a condition of being allowed to work.

Israel has told dozens of organizations, including Médecins Sans Frontières and CARE, that their licenses will expire at the end of 2025. The groups argued the rules were arbitrary and warned that the new ban would harm civilians in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

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