Israeli authorities have entered the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency's offices in East Jerusalem and raised Israel's flag, in a raid they say was ordered over unpaid taxes.
However, the move was condemned by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as a challenge to international law.
UNRWA, which has been accused of bias by Israel, has not used the building since the start of this year after Israel ordered it to vacate all of its premises and cease its operations.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the raid.
"This compound remains United Nations premises and is inviolable and immune from any other form of interference," he said in a statement.
"I urge 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."
UNRWA's Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini wrote on social media that the move by Israel could create "a dangerous precedent anywhere else the UN is present across the world".
Today in the early morning, Israeli police accompanied by municipal officials forcibly entered the @UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem. Police motorcycles, as well as trucks & forklifts, were brought in & all communications were cut. Furniture, IT equipment & other property was…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) December 8, 2025
The Jerusalem municipality said tax collectors had entered the UNRWA compound over unpaid property taxes of 11 million shekels (€3m) after multiple warnings were issued and all necessary procedures were followed.
"This is a substantial debt that required collection after repeated requests, warnings and numerous opportunities given to settle it, which were not answered," it said.
UNRWA spokesperson Jonathan Fowler said the East Jerusalem compound remained UN premises despite the Israeli ban on its operations and that the agency had no debts to the municipality.
The UN had contacted Israeli authorities several times to remind them of their obligations under a convention to which Israel is a signatory, he said.
The Israeli prime minister's office and foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr Lazzarini said that police motorcycles, trucks and forklifts were brought in and communications were cut and IT equipment, furniture and other property seized.
The UN General Assembly renewed UNRWA's mandate, first established in 1949, for another three years on Friday.
Mr Fowler declined to speculate on the timing of the raid.
He said that Israel had been conducting a "sustained disinformation campaign" against UNRWA, whose responsibilities it wants taken over by other UN bodies.
Palestinians view the agency's existence as enmeshed with the preservation of their rights as refugees, especially their hope of returning to homes from which they or their ancestors fled or were expelled in the war over Israel's creation in 1948.
Israel has alleged that some UNRWA staff were members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas and took part in the attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 that killed about 1,200 people.
Israel's military campaign against Hamas has resulted in the deaths more than 70,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza officials.
UNRWA has fired several employees but said that Israel had not provided evidence for all the allegations against its staff.
Israel's parliament passed a law in October 2024 banning the agency from operating in the country and prohibiting officials from having contact with the agency.
Read more:
What happens to UNRWA following Israeli ban?
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UNRWA operates in East Jerusalem, which the UN considers territory occupied by Israel. Israel considers all Jerusalem to be part of the country.
Israel formally annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, after capturing the area in the 1967 Middle East war.
The UN and most countries consider East Jerusalem to be occupied by Israel.
UNRWA also operates in Gaza, the West Bank and elsewhere in the Middle East, providing schooling, healthcare, social services and shelter to millions of Palestinians.
