Israeli forces raid and seize UNRWA training centre in East Jerusalem

Israeli forces have raided and seized the Qalandiya Training Centre, a UNRWA-run facility in Kafr Aqab in occupied East Jerusalem. The operation took place on Tuesday after Israeli forces closed the nearby Qalandiya checkpoint, according to the supplied report. Heavy military deployments were seen across surrounding neighbourhoods and the adjacent Qalandiya refugee camp.

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Troops forcibly expelled all UNRWA employees from the site and told them not to return, before beginning work to evacuate the complex. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was present at the scene and described the move as an operation to evacuate the building. He also said there was no place for the agency in Jerusalem and Israel.

Following the raid, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Jerusalem Municipality had already started work to turn the property into a new educational and community complex. The ministry said the project would include additional schools, a mosque, sports grounds and health centres, and claimed it would serve thousands of Palestinian residents in Kafr Aqab. Israeli officials also said the site had been owned by the Jewish National Fund since 1937 and later allocated to the municipality, arguing that UNRWA had fenced off the land for decades without legal ownership rights.

UNRWA rejected those claims and said the Qalandiya Training Centre is a UN facility protected under international law. The agency has long been a central provider of services for Palestinian refugees, and the report said the centre served 16,000 people from the Qalandiya refugee camp and from elsewhere in the occupied West Bank. The seizure therefore affects not only a single building, but a wider network of education and support services linked to the refugee population.

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The move also comes against the backdrop of Israeli legislation passed by the Knesset in October 2024 banning UNRWA activities in Israel. Israeli authorities cited that law as part of the justification for the takeover. The report also said the raid followed a similar operation months earlier, when Israeli forces raided UNRWA headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, suggesting a broader pattern of pressure on the agency in Jerusalem.

What remains unclear is how quickly the municipality will be able to convert the site and whether UNRWA will be able to challenge the seizure. It is also not clear what immediate effect the closure will have on the services previously delivered from the centre. The next developments to watch are any legal response from UNRWA, further statements from Israeli officials, and whether the operation leads to additional action against other UNRWA facilities in the city.

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