UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday denounced the Israel Police raid on the compound of UNRWA, the UN agency for “Palestinian refugees”, in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Shimon HaTzadik.
“This compound remains United Nations premises and is inviolable and immune from any other form of interference,” Guterres said in a statement.
“As recently confirmed by the International Court of Justice, any executive, administrative, judicial or legislative action against United Nations property and assets is prohibited under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,” he added.
The UN chief called on Israel “to immediately take all necessary steps to restore, preserve and uphold the inviolability of UNRWA premises and to refrain from taking any further action with regard to UNRWA premises, in line with its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and its other obligations under international law, including those concerning privileges and immunities of the United Nations.”
The UNRWA office in eastern Jerusalem has been inactive since legislation was passed last year banning the organization’s activity in Israel.
UNRWA said that, during Monday’s raid, the Israeli forces conducted a search of the offices and seized equipment. The police said the operation was carried out to enforce a property seizure order due to an outstanding debt owed by the agency.
At the end of the operation, the police officers were filmed hoisting a large Israeli flag over the roof of the building.
UNRWA has long been criticized for its cooperation with Hamas. That criticism has increased since Israel provided evidence in 2024 that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
Following the Israeli revelations, Guterres announced the creation of a review group, headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, to look into the Israeli allegations.
The group said in its report that it 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.
Despite all the evidence showing UNRWA’s deep ties to Hamas, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) recently ruled that Israel must facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip through UN agencies, including UNRWA. That ruling was criticized by Israel as well as by the US.
Guterres’ statement is the latest in his ongoing criticism of Israel’s counterterrorism operations against Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen.
Last week, the UN chief again sharply criticized Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, telling Reuters that there was something “fundamentally wrong” in the way the operation was conducted.
When asked if war crimes had been committed, Guterres responded, “There are strong reasons to believe that that possibility might be a reality.”