The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement "The Jerusalem Municipality today began renovation work on a new educational and social complex in Jerusalem, to serve thousands of Arab residents," and claimed that "the complex will be built on a plot of land owned by the Jewish National Fund since 1937, and allocated to the Jerusalem Municipality for this purpose."
She added that "in the coming years it is expected to include additional schools, a mosque, and sports and health facilities, all to serve the local community," and claimed that "despite the agency (UNRWA) not having any ownership rights to the land, it has fenced it off for decades."
The ministry continued: "UNRWA's activities in Israel are prohibited by law," referring to a law passed by the Israeli Knesset in October 2024.
Ben Ghafir celebrates the decision
For his part, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a statement: "We are making history! Large police forces are working, in coordination with the relevant authorities, to remove UNRWA from the site." He continued: "My policy is clear: sovereignty is not spoken, it is practiced. The police will continue to emphasize that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and will remain so," he claimed.
Break-in and evacuation
The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said in a statement that the occupation army had begun evacuating the Qalandia center, expelling all UNRWA employees and informing them not to return.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Israeli forces stormed the Qalandia camp and the town of Kafr Aqab “amid a heavy deployment of soldiers and military vehicles in the streets and neighborhoods, and began evacuating a UNRWA compound.” It added that the forces carried out raids and searches in the Qalandia camp and Kafr Aqab, and conducted field investigations with citizens.
international action
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) called on the international community on Tuesday to take immediate and decisive action to protect the sanctity of the Qalandia training center north of Jerusalem, after more than 50 Israeli security personnel stormed it.
UNRWA said in a statement: “At approximately 10:00 a.m. this morning (7:00 GMT), Israeli security forces forcibly entered the UNRWA Qalandia training center in occupied East Jerusalem.”
She added: "At least four armored vehicles entered the United Nations headquarters, accompanied by more than 50 Israeli security personnel."
She added: "There were approximately 20 UNRWA staff members on site at the time, and Israeli officials subsequently made public statements indicating that the Israeli authorities had seized the building."
The International Agency condemned "unequivocally this unauthorized and deeply troubling incursion into the Qalandia training center."
She stressed that "the entry of armed security forces into a United Nations facility, without the permission or approval of the United Nations, is unacceptable."
Security Council
For its part, the Palestinian Presidency called on the UN Security Council to convene urgently and take decisions to stop Israeli attacks on UN headquarters in Jerusalem.
This came in a statement carried by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA on Tuesday, after the Israeli occupation army and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed an educational facility belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Qalandia camp north of Jerusalem.
The Palestinian Presidency called on the UN Security Council to "convene urgently, assume its legal and political responsibilities, and take binding decisions and measures to stop Israeli attacks on UN headquarters and institutions in Jerusalem and Qalandiya."
The Presidency considered that targeting the headquarters of the United Nations and its institutions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, "represents a serious violation of international law and the immunity of international institutions, and constitutes a dangerous escalation that cannot be tolerated."
She said that these attacks come "within the framework of a systematic and continuous Israeli policy targeting the Palestinian people, their institutions and national rights," and are accompanied by the continuation of the Israeli genocidal war in Gaza and the escalation of attacks on Palestinian cities, villages and camps.
“A blatant violation of the law”
For its part, Jordan condemned the Israeli authorities’ storming and evacuation of the “Qalandia” training center belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem, and considered it a “flagrant violation of international law.”
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry confirmed, in a statement, the Kingdom’s absolute rejection and strong condemnation of Israel’s continued “systematic campaign to target UNRWA, restrict it and its institutions, and limit its vital role,” and described the new Israeli measure as “a blatant violation of international law and a breach of the immunities and privileges of the United Nations and its agencies.”
She stressed that Israeli practices constitute a clear violation of international law and of the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in October 2025, which affirmed Israel’s obligations to facilitate the work of the UN agency in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.
She explained that these measures are an extension of the Israeli government’s policies and illegal actions in the occupied West Bank, targeting the presence of UNRWA and its symbolism, which affirms the right of Palestinian refugees to return and receive compensation in accordance with international law. She warned of the repercussions of targeting institutions that provide vital and indispensable services.
It called on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities, to confront Israeli decisions, and to provide the necessary political and financial support to UNRWA to continue providing its services in accordance with its UN mandate.
field visit
The raid and evacuation of the Qalandia center comes a day after a field visit to the area organized by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 28 diplomatic missions accredited to Palestine. The visit included the Qalandia camp, UNRWA facilities, the Qalandia Vocational Training Center, the Qalandia Girls School, and damaged sites in the camp.
The diplomats listened to briefings on the deteriorating humanitarian and service conditions in the camp, and the negative repercussions of Israeli measures on Palestinian citizens and civilian facilities
UNRWA affiliate
On August 9, UNRWA said in a statement that the agency’s Qalandia Training Centre is a UN vocational training facility in occupied East Jerusalem, adding: “The centre was established in 1952 as UNRWA’s first training centre, and provides young Palestine refugees from the West Bank with technical and vocational training opportunities. Around 340 young people are trained at the centre annually.”
She added that the center offers courses that equip young Palestinian refugees with the skills and knowledge they need to enter the labor market and improve their livelihoods for themselves and their families. She further stated that it offers 16 specializations, including electromechanical engineering, automotive mechatronics, carpentry, construction, communications, and interior design, and that 90 percent of the center's graduates find employment after graduation.
The agency noted that the center covers an area of 80 dunams (a dunam equals one thousand square meters), and includes training workshops, classrooms, dormitories, and administrative buildings.
The assets in the complex are valued at more than US$5 million. UNRWA and its donors have invested significant funding in renovating the buildings over the past years, according to UNRWA.
She said that the Jordanian government provided the center's land to UNRWA through an agreement concluded on October 16, 1952, for the purpose of providing technical and vocational training to Palestinian refugees, and that this agreement remains in effect to this day. She emphasized that UNRWA is a United Nations agency, and therefore all its facilities, such as the Qalandia Training Center, are protected by the privileges and immunities of the United Nations under international law.
In early 2025, Israel closed the UNRWA headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, and then announced its confiscation.
UNRWA was established in 1949 by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly and was mandated to provide assistance and protection to Palestinian refugees in its five areas of operation: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The agency relies on donations from UN member states for its funding and is the main provider of humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees, including food, health care, education and shelter.
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