High Court Asked to Freeze Controversial Anti-UNRWA Law

Petitioners asked the High Court of Justice on Tuesday to issue an interim order freezing the implementation of recent Knesset legislation targeting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), warning that its enforcement is already leading to the shutdown of essential services for tens of thousands of residents of east Jerusalem. The request was filed ahead of a scheduled High Court hearing on February 2, seeking to suspend the entry into force of amendments to the anti-UNRWA law passed in late December. The petitioners argue that the legislation, which significantly expands the state’s authority to sever utilities, cancel permits, and seize property used by UNRWA, is being implemented in a manner that causes immediate and irreversible harm - while its constitutionality remains under judicial review. According to the filing, state authorities have already begun taking concrete steps on the ground, including issuing orders to disconnect water and electricity, closing schools and medical facilities, and demolishing structures affiliated with the agency in east Jerusalem neighborhoods such as Sheikh Jarrah and the Old City basin. The petitioners - represented by Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel - argued that the amendment creates a “sweeping enforcement mechanism” that allows the state and municipal authorities to halt the provision of electricity, water, sewage, communications, and other essential services to properties used by UNRWA, even indirectly, without meaningful safeguards or transitional arrangements. UNRWA closure orders The filing details a series of actions already taken since early January. On April 6, the Education Ministry issued closure orders for six UNRWA-run schools in east Jerusalem, affecting 783 students, according to the petition. Additional warning notices have since been sent by the Jerusalem water utility and the Israel Electric Corporation, informing UNRWA facilities that service would be disconnected within 15 days. On January 12, the IEC notified several UNRWA sites - including schools, a garbage collection facility, and a vocational training center in the Kalandiya area - of impending electricity cuts, according to documents appended to the request. The petition also cites a police closure order issued earlier this month against the UNRWA-operated Jerusalem Health Centre in the Old City, which has provided medical care for decades and treated more than 24,000 patients in 2025 alone. While the order was issued for a limited period, the petitioners warn that without electricity and water, the clinic may be unable to reopen, leaving thousands without access to healthcare. On Tuesday, authorities, accompanied by Israel Police and Border Police forces, entered the UNRWA headquarters compound in Sheikh Jarrah and began demolition works, including the destruction of offices and logistical infrastructure that had served the agency for years, according to the petition and media reports. Maariv reported that the site was slated for evacuation and further demolitions as part of the enforcement of the new law. The demolition has been widely reported as part of the state’s broader implementation of the amended legislation, though officials have maintained that the enforcement actions are grounded in Israeli law and municipal authority, independent of the petition now before the High Court. UNRWA officials said the demolition marked the first destruction of a UNRWA facility under the amended legislation and warned that additional sites could face similar action in the coming weeks. UNRWA has come under sustained criticism from Israel in recent years, which intensified following the October 7 Hamas attack. Authorities and leadership have accused the agency of systemic failures, alleging that some of its employees were affiliated with terrorist organizations and that UNRWA infrastructure was misused for militant activity. In the past two days, officials again highlighted the case of Yonatan Samerano, who was murdered on October 7, after security sources alleged that an individual employed by UNRWA was involved in his killing and abduction. The allegations, which UNRWA has said it is reviewing, have been cited by government figures as further justification for the legislation aimed at curtailing the agency’s operations in Israel and Jerusalem. The petition argues that the amendment directly contradicts Israel’s obligations under international law, including the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, to which Israel acceded in 1949. The new provision explicitly strips UNRWA and its staff of the protections afforded to UN institutions and property, including immunity from seizure and interference. The state, for its part, has argued in previous filings and public statements that UNRWA’s unique status does not place it beyond Israeli sovereignty or enforcement powers, particularly where security concerns are implicated. The filing also references an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in October 2025, which held that UNRWA cannot be replaced “on short notice and without a proper transition plan,” and emphasized the agency’s unique role in providing basic services to Palestinian civilians. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini and senior officials have repeatedly warned that cutting utilities to schools, clinics, and training centers would effectively force the agency to cease operations in east Jerusalem. In their request for an interim order, the petitioners urge the High Court to maintain the status quo until a final ruling is issued, arguing that continued enforcement risks creating irreversible facts on the ground.