UN’s Call for Israel to Halt UNRWA Demolitions Masks a Deeper Conflict Over Sovereignty

The recent demands from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres for Israel to immediately stop demolishing the UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem raise fundamental questions about national sovereignty and security. While the UN frames this as a matter of protecting an inviolable agency, the reality touches at the heart of Israel’s right—shared by all sovereign nations—to defend its territory and citizens against threats masked as humanitarian operations. Who Truly Benefits From UNRWA’s Immunity? UNRWA has operated under international protection in Sheikh Jarrah, a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Yet, Israel’s decision last year to revoke UNRWA’s immunity and begin demolition...