<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Spanish Government has condemned the incursion by Israeli security forces into the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem, “violating the privileges and immunities of the United Nations agency.”</strong></h4> “The Government urges respect for international law and the international obligations assumed by all UN member states, and calls on Israel to allow UNRWA to continue fulfilling its mandate without limitations or obstacles,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared in a statement early Tuesday morning. “The Government reiterates its support for UNRWA, a fundamental and irreplaceable actor in resolving the conflict between Palestine and Israel, as well as in its efforts to alleviate the unbearable humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” it concluded. “Today in the early morning, Israeli police accompanied by municipal officials forcibly entered the UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem,” the Agency’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, stated in a press release on Monday. “This latest action represents a blatant disregard of Israel’s obligation as a United Nations Member State to protect and respect the inviolability of UN premises,” he continued. “Following months of harassment that included arson attacks in 2024, hateful demonstrations and intimidation, supported by a large-scale disinformation campaign, as well as anti-UNRWA legislation passed by the Israeli parliament in breach of its international obligations, UNRWA personnel were forced to vacate the compound at the beginning of this year,” Lazzarini recalled. “However, whatever action taken domestically, the compound retains its status as a UN premises, immune from any form of interference,” the Commissioner-General warned, recalling that “Israel is party to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN. The Convention makes UN premises inviolable - in other words, immune from search and/or seizure - and makes UN property and assets immune from legal process.” “The International Court of Justice has also underscored that Israel is obliged to cooperate with UNRWA and other UN agencies,” Lazzarini continued. “There can be no exceptions. To allow this represents a new challenge to international law, one that creates a dangerous precedent anywhere else the UN is present across the world,” he warned. For his part, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the incursion and reiterated in a statement that “this complex remains the property of the United Nations and is inviolable and immune from any other form of interference.” He added, “I urge Israel to immediately take all necessary measures to restore, preserve, and defend the inviolability of UNRWA facilities and to refrain from any further actions concerning UNRWA facilities.”
