UN condemns Israel's unauthorized entry into UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem

China

UN condemns Israel's unauthorized entry into UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem

2025-12-09 11:34 Last Updated At：17:47

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.

China to set new records in crude oil production in 2025: data

China's crude oil production is expected to reach a historic high of 215 million tons in 2025, according to the latest data released by the National Energy Administration on Tuesday.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China has added a total of 105 million tons of new crude oil capacity, with offshore oil emerging as a key growth driver, accounting for over 60 percent of the country's new oil output for five consecutive years, according to the data.

Meanwhile, China has maintained nine years of consecutive growth in natural gas, with production continuing to expand by hundreds of millions of cubic meters annually. The country remains the world's fourth-largest natural gas producer, with a sustained position of strength, the National Energy Administration said.

By the end of 2025, China's natural gas output is projected to reach 260 billion cubic meters, representing a 35 percent increase from the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), according to the data.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China also saw the addition of 10 super-large oil fields, each with reserves exceeding 100 million tons, and 19 giant gas fields with proven reserves over 100 billion cubic meters. Total proven geological reserves in the country have increased by approximately 43 percent for oil and 40 percent for natural gas compared to the previous Five-Year Plan period, with additional proven reserves of 7 billion tons of oil and over 7 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.

By far, China's oil and gas pipeline network has expanded to 195,000 kilometers, accelerating the formation of a national pipeline network.

"During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's investment and workload in oil and gas exploration and development have remained at historically high levels. A continuous emergence of scientific and technological innovation achievements has led the oil and gas industry into a new stage of both increased volume and efficiency as well as green development. A modern oil and gas production, supply, storage and sales system that is safer, more efficient, open and resilient has been established, providing a solid guarantee for national energy security and the steady development of the economy and society," said Hu Jianwu, deputy director of the Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas under the National Energy Administration.