Israeli settlers call for UN agency’s closure in Jerusalem protest

Dozens of Israeli settlers and rightwing activists have protested by again blocking the entrances of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) office in Jerusalem and calling for the body’s closure.

Last week, Israel announced it would no longer approve Unrwa food convoys to the north of Gaza, where the threat of famine is highest. The decision came after the agency was accused by the government of collaborating with Hamas in Gaza, with its staff facing a systematic campaign of obstruction and harassment by the Israeli military and authorities, as revealed in internal UN documents seen by the Guardian.

On Wednesday, a group of settlers, activists, and members of the rightwing extra-parliamentary political group Im Tirtzu staged a protest for the third week in a row, fixing posters to the building and demanding that the agency be abolished.

“Unrwa needs to be disbanded,” said Aynat Libman, a 52-year-old Israeli settler from Efrat. “Israel doesn’t need to provide space to Unrwa in our capital. They support terror, teach children from a very young age to be terrorists, provide support to Hamas, and supply Hamas. They are terrorists.”