JERUSALEM/ ISTANBUL 

Israeli police on Monday stormed the sealed headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem.

The compound had served as an UNRWA office since 1951, but the agency vacated it earlier this year following an Israeli government decision. Tel Aviv banned UNRWA’s operations in Jerusalem under a law passed by the Knesset (parliament).

The Jerusalem Governorate, affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, said police forces raided the headquarters, detained security guards, and confiscated their phones.

“Israeli police cut off communication, making it impossible to know what is happening inside the compound,” it added in a statement.

The raid occurred “alongside a complete closure of the surrounding area and extensive searches carried out by the occupation forces across all facilities of the building,” the statement said.

“This raid represents a direct challenge to the UN General Assembly’s overwhelming vote days ago to renew UNRWA’s mandate,” the governorate said.

It called for urgent international action to hold Israel accountable “for violating international law,” and to prosecute Israeli leaders “for crimes and abuses committed against the Palestinian people and their national and international institutions.”

There was no immediate comment from Israeli police or UNRWA on the raid.

On Friday, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to renew the UNRWA mandate for three years.

The resolution was backed by 151 votes against 10, and 14 abstentions.

UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly more than 70 years ago to assist Palestinians who were forcibly displaced from their land.

The UN agency has been facing severe financial difficulties since Israel launched a defamation campaign against UNRWA, claiming that staff members were involved in the Oct. 7 attacks.

Despite UNRWA's requests that the Israeli government provide information and evidence to back up the allegations, the agency has received no response. Following Israel's accusations, several key donor nations, including the US, suspended or paused funding.