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UNRWA seized in Qalandia
Israel seized the UNRWA Qalandia Training Center in the northern part of the occupied East Jerusalem refugee camp of Qalandia, with Israel announcing its takeover on Tuesday.
“Israel announced, on Tuesday, its takeover of the Qalandia Training Center”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the municipality of Jerusalem began work to establish what it called a “new educational and social complex” at the site, and it claimed the land has belonged to the Jewish National Fund since 1937.
The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said Israeli forces began evacuating the Qalandia Center and expelling all UNRWA staff from it, telling them not to return to the site, as the Qalandia refugee camp and the town of Kafr Aqab saw heavy Israeli deployment of forces and military machinery.
UNRWA said the center is a UN facility protected under international law, while Israel’s Foreign Ministry alleged UNRWA does not hold ownership rights to the land and pointed to a ban on agency activities under a law enacted by the Knesset in October 2024.
The takeover followed a day after a field visit organized by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with participation of representatives from 28 accredited diplomatic missions to Palestine, including Qalandia Camp and UNRWA facilities.
Ben-Gvir and UN response
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir celebrated the evacuation of the center, saying a large police force is coordinating with relevant authorities to remove UNRWA from the site.
Al Jazeera reported that Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced the start of the evacuation of the UNRWA complex in Jerusalem, saying, 'Sovereignty is not words but actions.'
UNRWA spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna confirmed that Israeli authorities did not inform the agency of any formal measures to take control of the Qalandia Vocational Training Institute or to lower the UN flag there, describing the move as a dangerous escalation and a blatant violation of international law and the UN mandate granted to the agency since the institute’s founding.
An Anadolu Ajansı report quoted UNRWA saying, “Today at approximately 10:00, Israeli Security Forces forcibly entered” the center in occupied East Jerusalem, adding that at least four armored vehicles entered the premises with more than 50 Israeli security personnel.
Anadolu Ajansı also reported that UNRWA said approximately 20 UNRWA staff members were present at the site at the time of the incident, and that UNRWA called the entry of armed security forces into a United Nations facility “unacceptable.”
What comes next in West Bank
The raids and evacuations were described as part of an Israeli campaign against UNRWA facilities in East Jerusalem, after Israel closed the agency’s headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood at the beginning of 2025 before announcing its seizure.
“The takeover of Qalandia Center is part of an Israeli campaign against UNRWA facilities”
Akhbaar al-Ghad said the takeover of Qalandia Center is part of an Israeli campaign against UNRWA facilities in East Jerusalem, and it also described UNRWA’s mandate to provide assistance and protection to Palestinian refugees in its five areas of operation—Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
Al-Jazirah Net tied the evacuation of the Qalandia complex to offensive policies announced by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant toward northern West Bank camps such as Jenin and Tulkarm, asserting that Israel seeks to undermine UNRWA’s presence as a political and legal witness to refugee rights.
The Anadolu Ajansı report said UNRWA urged the international community to act “immediately and decisively” to safeguard its Qalandia Training Center after the raid, while it also noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had directly ordered the operation.
In the same reporting, UNRWA said the entry of armed security forces into a United Nations facility, without the authorization or consent of the United Nations, is unacceptable, as the agency framed the incident as a direct challenge to UN protections and international warnings.