West Bank · 26 August, 2026 · 3 min read
Israeli Forces Seize UNRWA Qalandia Training Center in East Jerusalem, Begin Evacuation
Israeli forces evacuated and seized UNRWA Qalandiya Training Center in Kafr Aqab, East Jerusalem. The occupation raised the Israeli flag at the center's courtyard; staff evacuated, barred from return.
Ben-Gvir/Netanyahu role and intent for the operation.
9 of 10 outlets skipped it: netanyahu ordered the evacuation in accordance with his directive.
Al Jazeera was read line by line by the Watchdog: 0.7. See the score →
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Same story, two versions
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Akhbaar al-Ghad
“exercising what he described as sovereignty over Jerusalem”
Translated from the original.
Read the original ↗El Nuevo Diario
“evacuation of the UNRWA center occurred under his instructions”
Translated from the original.
Read the original ↗Ben-Gvir and Netanyahu are framed as key drivers in El Nuevo Diario and Akhbaar al-Ghad
UNRWA Center Seized
Israeli forces seized and began evacuating the UNRWA Qalandia Training Center in the northern part of the occupied East Jerusalem refugee camp of Qalandia, with Israel announcing its takeover of the UN facility protected under international law.
“Israel announced, on Tuesday, its takeover of the Qalandia Training Center”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the municipality of Jerusalem has begun work to establish what it called a “new educational and social complex” at the site, while Palestinians view the move as a pretext to seize lands and undermine Palestinian and international institutions operating in occupied East Jerusalem.
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 trains around 340 youths annually and that it was established in 1952 as the agency’s first training facility, offering 16 specialties and noting that about 90% of its graduates find employment after graduation.
Israel’s 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, which included Qalandia Camp and UNRWA facilities.
Ben-Gvir and Diplomatic Visits
Jerusalem Governorate communications director Omar Al-rajoub said what is happening in Kafr Aqab represents a new assault in a chain of Israeli measures against UNRWA and humanitarian and official institutions in Jerusalem, adding that Israeli forces stormed the Technical Training Institute in Qalandia and evacuated the employees and guards.
Al-rajoub said the occupation authorities and the Jerusalem Municipality distributed notices to confiscate Palestinian lands, including lands on which buildings and projects are located, with the aim of establishing infrastructure to serve colonial projects north of Jerusalem.
In parallel, Al-Ghad reported that Israeli occupation forces on Tuesday evacuated the Qalandia Vocational Training Institute in Kafr Aqab, seized its complex, and raised the occupation flag in its courtyard, one day after 28 diplomatic missions visited and were briefed on the violations and threats it faces.
Al-Ghad said Palestinian sources stated that occupation forces detained about 40 staff and all those present at the institute and subjected them to interrogations before evacuating them, while procedures to demolish the complex’s facilities began.
The same report said the Popular Committee of Qalandia Camp stated the raid was a direct response to the visits of the diplomatic missions, which it said confirmed UNRWA is an international organization with immunity and that the institute provides vocational training for about 320 students from camps in the West Bank.
What’s at Stake Next
UNRWA and its supporters framed the takeover as part of a broader campaign to remove UNRWA from occupied Jerusalem, with Al-Jazirah Net describing the evacuation of the UNRWA complex in the Qalandiya refugee camp and reporting that Israeli forces closed the camp’s main entrance and the road leading to Jerusalem.
“Today at approximately 10:00, Israeli Security Forces forcibly entered”
Al-Jazirah Net quoted UNRWA spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna confirming 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.
Anadolu Ajansı reported that UNRWA urged the international community to act “immediately and decisively” to safeguard its Qalandia Training Center after Israeli security forces raided the facility, saying “Today at approximately 10:00, Israeli Security Forces forcibly entered” the center in occupied East Jerusalem.
Anadolu Ajansı said at least four armored vehicles entered the premises with more than 50 Israeli security personnel, and that approximately 20 UNRWA staff members were present at the site at the time of the incident.
The same Anadolu Ajansı account said Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir boasted about the raid and that UNRWA said the entry of armed security forces into a United Nations facility, without authorization or consent of the United Nations, is unacceptable.