Israel demands removal of UN agency for Palestinians before ending Jenin assault

Middle East Eye

2 days ago

Israeli officials have laid out a series of conditions to end their military assault on the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, including closing Unrwa's office, removing the refugee status of the camps and reclassifying them as neighbourhoods.
According to Jenin's mayor Mohammed Jarrar, the Dutch ambassador told him about Israel's conditions for withdrawing from the Jenin refugee camp.
Jarrar said Michel Rentenaar, the Dutch ambassador to Palestine, told him that Israel wants the closure of the Unrwa office; wants a Palestinian police station to be opened within the refugee camp; for the camp to be redesignated as a neighbourhood, as opposed to a refugee camp; and for Israel to be able to conduct security checks on refugees returning to the camp after Israeli withdrawal.
Palestinian police officers would have to work under the authority of and, on behalf of, Israeli security interests.
'These conditions are unacceptable to us, and we will not deal with them in any way, shape, or form,' Jarrar said, according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Arabic language media outlets further reported that Palestinian Authority (PA) officials rejected demands made by the Israelis in talks on a possible Israeli withdrawal that are coordinated by Washington.
"The Americans are leading the dialogue on this issue, and the PA responded to them by saying that the Unrwa is a red line and cannot be touched," said Palestinian sources cited by Al-Araby.
US involvement
The conditions for ending the military operation were laid out by the US coordinator for security affairs in the West Bank, Michael R Wenzel and Israeli military commanders, in a series of meetings held over the past few months.
Israeli demands also include resettling around 50 percent of refugee camp residents in dispersed housing units away from the camp and restrictions on the rebuilding of homes destroyed by Israel.
The conditions are tied to ending ongoing Israeli military operations in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams camps.
Unrwa ban: US tells ICJ it's lawful for Israel to curtail work of UN agencies Read More »
Palestinian officials say the conditions amount to an effort to strip refugees of their status and undermine the right of return.
Israel launched a large-scale military operation named "Iron Wall" in January 2025, which has left large sections of the camps destroyed.
The assault initially targeted Jenin, but was later extended to Tulkarm, and other areas of the occupied West Bank.
Unrwa, which continues to provide limited support in the refugee camps in the West Bank, has been a target of Israeli campaigns, as it continues to recognise the refugee status of Palestinians expelled from their homelands during the Nakba, as well as their descendants.
Before and during the establishment of Israel, Zionist gangs expelled more than 750,000 Palestinians from their homes in order to create a Jewish majority in their newly established state.
Those Palestinians and their descendants have never been allowed to return home and now live in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza, as well as neighbouring Arab states.
The existence of Unrwa tacitly recognises the right of those refugees to return to their homes in what is now considered Israel.
US and Israeli officials have floated alternatives to the agency, including transferring Unrwa's education, health, and sanitation services to the Palestinian Authority.
In July 2024, Israel's Knesset approved a bill seeking to terminate Israel's relations with Unrwa and declaring it a terrorist organisation.