United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday in a statement condemned Israel's unauthorized entry earlier in the day into the UN Sheikh Jarrah compound held by the UN relief agency for Palestinians located in occupied East Jerusalem.
The statement was read out by Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, at a daily briefing on Monday after Israeli forces raided the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem, seizing items and replacing the UN flag with Israel's flag.
The East Jerusalem compound has not been used since the beginning of the year after Israeli authorities ordered the agency to vacate all of its premises and halt operations inside Israel.
Israel barred UNRWA from operating on its soil after claiming some employees had participated in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, an allegation denied by UNRWA, while in October the International Court of Justice found that Israel's allegation against UNRWA was unsubstantiated.
"This compound remains United Nations premises and is inviolable and immune from any other form of interference. As recently confirmed by the International Court of Justice, any executive, administrative, judicial or legislative action against United Nations property and assets is prohibited by the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations," said Dujarric.
"The Secretary-General urges Israel to immediately take all necessary steps to help restore, preserve and uphold the inviolability of UNRWA premises and refrain from taking any further action with regard to UNRWA premises, in line with Israel's obligations under the Charter of the UN and its other obligations under international law, including those concerning privileges and immunities of the United Nations," he added.
In a statement on Monday, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said Israeli police, accompanied by Jerusalem municipal officials, forcibly entered the UNRWA compound, cutting all communications and seizing furniture, information technology equipment, and other property.
He condemned the latest attack on UNRWA as a direct violation of international law, saying it showed a blatant disregard of Israel's obligation as a United Nations Member State to protect and respect the inviolability of UN premises.
The UNRWA head said allowing such a violation presents a new challenge to international law, one that creates a dangerous precedent anywhere else the UN is present across the world.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have yet to comment on the matter. The Israeli local government responded that Israeli tax officials entered the premises because the UNRWA had long failed to pay property taxes to Israel, and claimed that they had followed all necessary procedures.
Established in 1949, the UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the agency's area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.
Following the latest hostilities in Gaza, Israel had repeatedly bombed schools and medical facilities operated by the agency in the besieged enclave, and even urged several countries to stop providing funding to the agency.
UN condemns Israel's unauthorized entry into UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem
UN condemns Israel's unauthorized entry into UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem
