UN Condemns Israeli Takeover of Last Operating Unrwa Site in East Jerusalem

Israeli forces have raided and shut down the United Nations' Qalandia Training Centre, the final facility run by the agency for Palestinian refugees still functioning in occupied East Jerusalem. The operation drew immediate condemnation from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose office stressed that all UN premises enjoy immunity from interference under international law.

The vocational college, established in 1952, had each year equipped roughly 340 young Palestinians with trades such as carpentry, plumbing and car mechanics. Although administratively part of East Jerusalem, the campus sits between Qalandia and Kfar Aqab, on the far side of Israel's separation barrier — a position that made it reachable for students from refugee camps throughout the West Bank.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir took part in Tuesday's raid and publicized it widely, posting footage of himself seated in the institute director's chair alongside a crew from the pro-government Channel 14. "Thank God, on my shift there is no Unrwa," he declared. Staff members were expelled from the premises, and officials say equipment is now being taken away, with plans to convert part of the compound into a school.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed he had ordered the evacuation of the site, alleging that Unrwa was complicit in the Hamas-led assault of 7 October 2023 that killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw 251 hostages taken — accusations the agency has consistently rejected. Israeli intelligence asserted that no fewer than 19 of its staff joined the attack; a UN inquiry concluded there were indications of possible involvement by nine employees, whose contracts were terminated, while finding insufficient or no support for the other claims.

Unrwa denounced what it called an unauthorized incursion carried out without the consent of the United Nations, insisting that armed personnel entering its facilities is unacceptable. Guterres expressed alarm that the closure will strip students of the vocational education they relied upon. The agency serves more than 900,000 registered refugees in the occupied West Bank alone.

Tuesday's action follows legislation that took effect last year barring Unrwa from any activity within what Israel considers sovereign territory, including East Jerusalem — land captured in 1967 and annexed in a move unrecognized by most of the world — and prohibiting state bodies from contact with the agency. Closure orders previously ended classroom instruction at six Unrwa schools in the city, cutting off in-person education for some 800 children.

The Palestinian foreign ministry urged governments worldwide to act swiftly to safeguard the college, restore its staff, and stop Israel from entrenching what it described as a permanent fait accompli. Unrwa was created after the 1948 war to assist Palestinians displaced during the founding of Israel, and many Palestinians view the escalating pressure on it as an attempt to erase the refugee question — including their demand for the right of return — from the negotiating table altogether.