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Thursday should have been the day that UNRWA, the UN agency that plays a critical role in providing for Palestinian refugees across the Middle East, came crashing down in Jerusalem, after a presence of 75 years.
Despite concerns from many in the international community, Israel went ahead with laws passed on October 28 to halt the organisation’s activities within Israeli-controlled territory and ban the country’s officials and institutions from interacting with it. The visas of the agency’s international staff expired on Wednesday.
Staff were supposed to vacate its property in the city, a major disruption that plunges the organisation into chaos at a tense moment in East Jerusalem, economic crisis and massive violence in the occupied West Bank, and, most critically, when the aid operation in Gaza is supposed to be stepping up, efforts in which UNRWA is central.
On Thursday morning, the organisation’s large and heavily guarded headquarters on Ammunition Hill, much of it plastered in the blue and white paint of UN properties, did appear empty. A Palestinian man appeared briefly behind a metal fence strewn with barbed wire but he was the only sign of life inside.
Outside the gates, a small number of Israelis, most of them members of ultranationalist groups long-opposed to the organisation, set up a modest table with small glasses of kosher wine and pastries to celebrate the apparent end of UNRWA in the region.
One briefly climbed up the thick metal gate blocking the main entrance to stick an Israel flag in its middle, which blended in well with the UN colours.
“UNRWA took a clean population, like clean water, and put in one drop of poison,” Jerusalem’s deputy mayor Arieh King told a crowd of reporters. “This is enough to poison the entire population. This is UNRWA. It is time that this source of poison is kicked out of Jerusalem. This is what we’re celebrating.”
Although there were few people at Mr King’s celebration, which he was promoting on X earlier this week, the opinions he expressed are shared widely in Israel. UNRWA has long faced accusations of tolerating anti-Semitic content in school curriculums, being closely linked to Hamas and perpetuating the refugee status of Palestinians, which many Israelis say makes ending the Israel-Palestine conflict more difficult.
There has been even more hostility since October 7, 2023, with Israel accusing staff members of UNRWA of taking part in the Hamas-led attacks, and the Israeli army saying it has uncovered Hamas weapons and tunnel entrances at UNRWA centres, including schools.
Benayahu Ben Shabbat, of the ultranationalist group Im Tirtzu, had been to the compound many times previously. His organisation was part of the campaign to close UNRWA, organising protests, spreading the group's message on social media and lobbying members of Israel’s parliament.
“People outside Israel have concerns about subjects they just don’t know anything about, especially when it comes to UNRWA,” Mr Ben Shabbat told The National.
“It is a terror organisation. We have proof of hundreds, thousands of UNRWA employees all over Israel and outside who support terrorism and don’t even hide it."
“We know about teachers, schoolbooks – everything is about fighting Israel and having no peace with Israel.”
Many of Israel’s allies have engaged with the country’s concerns, with a number of key national donors to the organisation suspending funding after Israel said some UNRWA employees participated in the October 7 attacks, although the donations returned over the course of some months and UNRWA investigated the claims, suspending some of the accused.
Separate from the years-long, tit-for-tat accusations between Israel and the agency, much of the international worry over Israel’s blanket ban is about the logistical difficulties it causes. In the run-up to the introduction of the laws, officials of the agency said they had received no information from Israeli authorities about how to continue their services, which include running schools, medical complexes, utilities and many other aspects of daily life throughout the many Palestinian refugee camps in the region.
Mr King was certain these logistical challenges could be overcome in Jerusalem. “We have enough schools. We can accommodate all the students. It’s about 800-900 Arab students that are in UNRWA kindergartens and schools. Their new places are ready, there’s no problem with it,” he told The National.
“About medics, you’re from Britain, believe me our medical system is among the best, maybe even better than Britain’s. And it doesn’t even compare to UNRWA’s. We are welcoming them to get their treatment in the best hospitals in the world, here in Jerusalem.”
Half an hour down the road, senior staff nurse Manal Khayyat bustled around one such UNRWA clinic, under the shade of trees surrounding the Indian Hospice just inside Herod’s Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The doors of the clinic were open. A few patients walked in, with young mothers carrying children and a single man asking if the pharmacy was open. The URNWA flag waved high above the street, which is often patrolled by Israel’s heavily armed border police.
“Nothing has happened today,” Ms Khayyat said. "We came at 7am to open the centre and everything’s been fine since. Senior UNRWA staff told us yesterday that we should come to work as normal.
“There’s been no army or police. We’re ready to carry out or work as usual. We’re not afraid, thank God. We have our sick to take care of – and we have justice.”
The silence at the massive Ammunition Hill compound versus the defiant business of the Herod’s Gate clinic shows the scale of Israel’s task at hand, as it proceeds with the ban. UNRWA might be detested and a symbol for Israelis of how many in the international system are biased and prejudiced against their state, particularly after October 7, but rooting it out from Palestinian society is extremely complex and another burden for a country exhausted by war.
The international staff and senior management might be gone, mostly to Amman, and their headquarters about to be seized, but the Palestinians who fill the ranks of its many institutions, and the hundreds of thousands more who use them, are not going anywhere.
“Of course we’ve been a bit afraid over the past couple of days when they told us the centre would be closed but thank God we are still here and continuing our work. Hopefully we’ll keep this up in the coming days,” Ms Khayyat said, as she excused herself to answer the call of a colleague in the back of the office.
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
The Breadwinner
Director: Nora Twomey
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq
Three stars
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List
James Mustich, Workman
Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
RESULT
Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Man United: Sanchez (24' ), Herrera (62')
Spurs: Alli (11')
Challenge Cup result:
1. UAE 3 faults
2. Ireland 9 faults
3. Brazil 11 faults
4. Spain 15 faults
5. Great Britain 17 faults
6. New Zealand 20 faults
7. Italy 26 faults
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3ESaturday%2C%20May%2028%2C%20United%20States%20v%20Scotland%3Cbr%3ESunday%2C%20May%2029%2C%20United%20States%20v%20Scotland%3Cbr%3ETuesday%2C%20May%2031%2C%20UAE%20v%20Scotland%3Cbr%3EWednesday%2C%20June%201%2C%20UAE%20v%20United%20States%3Cbr%3EFriday%2C%20June%203%2C%20UAE%20v%20Scotland%3Cbr%3ESaturday%2C%20June%204%2C%20UAE%20v%20United%20States%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAhmed%20Raza%20(captain)%2C%20Chirag%20Suri%2C%20Muhammad%20Waseem%2C%20Vriitya%20Aravind%2C%20CP%20Rizwan%2C%20Basil%20Hameed%2C%20Rohan%20Mustafa%2C%20Kashif%20Daud%2C%20Karthik%20Meiyappan%2C%20Zahoor%20Khan%2C%20Junaid%20Siddique%2C%20Alishan%20Sharafu%2C%20Akif%20Raja%2C%20Rahul%20Bhatia%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETable%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1.%20Oman%2032%2019%2011%2040%20%2B0.156%3Cbr%3E2.%20Scotland%2016%2011%203%2024%20%2B0.574%3Cbr%3E3.%20UAE%2018%2010%206%2022%20%2B0.22%3Cbr%3E4.%20Namibia%2014%207%207%2014%20%2B0.096%3Cbr%3E5.%20United%20States%2016%207%209%2014%20-0.229%3Cbr%3E6.%20Nepal%2012%206%206%2012%20%2B0.113%3Cbr%3E7.%20Papua%20New%20Guinea%2020%201%2019%202%20-0.856%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre V6
Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
Price: Dh179,999-plus
On sale: now
