UNRWA centre raided by Israeli police in East Jerusalem

Israeli police raided a UNRWA vocational training centre in an east Jerusalem suburb on August 25, in an operation a far-right Israeli minister said was aimed at removing the UN agency from the site.

The Qalandia Training Centre is located between Kafr Aqab and Qalandia refugee camp. UNRWA says it was established in 1952 and offers vocational training to about 340 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank each year.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said police and other bodies were working to “remove UNRWA from the site”. He accused the agency of having employees involved in terrorism and of serving as a cover for Hamas.

Israel has repeatedly accused UNRWA of providing cover for Hamas militants and has said some of its employees took part in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Investigations, including one led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some “neutrality-related issues” at UNRWA but said Israel had not provided conclusive evidence for its central allegation.

An AFP journalist at the scene reported that Israeli forces closed the main road near the entrance and that forces inside the institute were moving from one building to another. The journalist also saw three civilian vehicles leave the site in a convoy escorted by the military.

The Jerusalem Governorate, the Palestinian local authority for the region including Qalandia camp, said Israeli forces raised the Israeli flag in the training centre courtyard.

Israel’s foreign ministry said the Jerusalem municipality had begun “renovation work” on a new educational and community complex in Kafr Aqab for Arab residents. It said UNRWA had no property rights to the plot.

UNRWA had repeatedly warned that Israeli authorities were threatening the Qalandia centre. The raid came a day after representatives from more than 25 diplomatic missions and international organisations visited the site.