The headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem has been closed following a fire on the premises.

“Israeli residents set fire twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA Headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem,” Philippe Lazzarini said in a post on X. “This took place while UNRWA and other UN Agencies’ staff were on the compound.

Mr Lazzarini added, “In light of this second appalling incident in less than a week, I have taken the decision to close down our compound until proper security is restored.”

No one was injured, but the fire caused considerable damage to the outside of the headquarters and petrol station for the aid agency’s fleet of vehicles.

He said the director of the local office tried to extinguish the fire with the help of other employees.

It took a while for the Israeli fire brigade to arrive, said Mr Lazzarini.

“This is an outrageous development. Once again, the lives of UN staff were at a serious risk,” he said.

The Israeli government alleges that a dozen UNRWA employees took part in the October 7 attacks on Israel and that the agency had been thoroughly infiltrated by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

UNRWA is the main humanitarian aid provider in Gaza.

Israel’s allegations threw the agency into a major crisis, and led some major donor countries including the two largest donors, the United States and Germany to suspend or pause funding.

However Israel has failed to provide conclusive evidence to support the allegations.

An investigation by independent experts concluded that UNRWA had implemented a number of “robust” mechanisms to ensure that the principle of neutrality is upheld, adding that there was room for improvement.  

(dpa/NAN)