UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- 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.