UNITED NATIONS/RAMALLAH - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday condemned Israel's demolition of a UN compound in East Jerusalem, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the UN chief, said in a statement.

"The secretary-general condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli authorities' actions to demolish" the Sheikh Jarrah compound of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the statement said.

It said that, as Guterres "has repeatedly and unequivocally stated, including in his letter to the Prime Minister of Israel on 8 January 2026, the Sheikh Jarrah compound remains United Nations premises, and is inviolable and immune from any form of interference."

The secretary-general urges the Israeli government to immediately cease the demolition of the compound, and to return and restore the compound and other UNRWA premises to the United Nations without delay, the statement said.

It added that Guterres views as wholly unacceptable the continued escalatory actions against UNRWA, which are inconsistent with Israel's clear obligations under international law, including the UN Charter and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.

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Also on Tuesday, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) condemned Israel's demolition of structures within the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) compound in East Jerusalem, calling it a "blatant attack" on the United Nations.

The PLO's Department of Refugee Affairs said the move sought to eliminate the UNRWA's humanitarian and political presence in the city. It urged the international community to intervene to prevent the "collapse of the international system."

Witnesses and Palestinian sources said Israeli forces, accompanied by bulldozers, entered the compound earlier on Tuesday to raze mobile offices. After the demolition, the UN flag was removed and replaced with an Israeli flag.

The Israel Land Authority described the operation as an enforcement action against "illegal" structures that violated planning and construction laws. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet, was present at the scene and hailed the day as an "important day for sovereignty in Jerusalem."

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini called the move an "unprecedented attack" and a "deliberate defiance of international law" on X. Hamas also denounced the operation, calling it a "flagrant violation."