Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, on Sunday warned of the danger inherent in Israel’s decision to take over the UNRWA headquarters in “occupied East Jerusalem”, and turning the place into a “settlement enclave”.

In a statement, Abu Rudeineh said that Israel’s decision constitutes a violation of international law and defiance of the UN resolutions.

He also said that the Israeli decision was wrong and was made as part of the ongoing attempts to “eliminate the refugee problem”.

Abbas’ spokesman stressed that the Palestinian Arabs will never agree under any circumstances to eliminate the refugee problem, since UNRWA was established in accordance with UN Resolution 302 on December 18, 1949, and the refugee problem is at the heart of the Palestinian problem, and it constitutes a red line for all arrangement”.

“There will be no security and stability in the entire region unless the settlement of the refugee problem is a just and comprehensive solution based on the decisions of international legitimacy, first of all the implementation of UN Resolution No. 194”, which according to the Palestinian Arab interpretation, orders the return of the refugees and their descendants to the territory of the State of Israel.

“If it weren’t for the American support which is politically, militarily and economically biased in favor of the occupation, the leaders of the occupation would not have dared to defy international legitimacy and international law,” Abu Rudeineh claimed.

He called on the international community to increase aid to UNRWA so that it can provide services to the “Palestinian refugees” wherever they are located.

His statement follows the Israel Land Authority’s announcement late last week that it plans to turn the UNRWA field office in Jerusalem’ into a complex with 1,440 housing units.

UNRWA, which has long been criticized for cooperating with Hamas, has come under increased scrutiny as its workers have been found to have been directly involved in Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.

Israel said in January of this year that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks. It then presented a dossier showing that the UNRWA workers who participated in the Hamas massacre kidnapped a woman, handed out ammunition and actively took part in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 people were murdered.

Following the Israeli revelations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the creation of a review group, headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, to look into the Israeli allegations.

The group released its report in April. The report found neutrality-related issues” in UNRWA but also claimed that Israel had yet to provide evidence for allegations that a significant number of its staff were members of terrorist organizations.

Recently, however, the UN acknowledged for the first time that employees of UNRWA may have been involved in Hamas’ October 7 massacre in Israel.

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