Israeli forces took control of a vocational training centre operated by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees near East Jerusalem on August 25, escalating a dispute over UNRWA's legal status and property. The United Nations condemned the operation, while Israel said it was implementing legislation that bars the agency from operating on territory it considers its own.
The Qalandia centre lies between the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Kafr Aqab and Qalandia refugee camp. Established in 1952, it provides vocational education to about 340 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank each year, according to UNRWA. The agency said more than 50 Israeli security personnel and at least four armoured vehicles entered around 10 a.m. while about 20 staff members were present.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the evacuation of the compound had begun under a law Israel passed against UNRWA. Israel alleges that agency employees participated in terrorism and the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack. Investigations, including a review led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found neutrality-related problems but said Israel had not supplied conclusive evidence for its broadest allegation.
Legislation cutting Israeli ties with UNRWA and banning its operations on Israeli territory took effect in January 2025. Israel's UN ambassador, Danny Danon, said the United Nations had been notified that the agency must leave Jerusalem and argued UNRWA had no property rights at the site. Israel's Foreign Ministry said the grounds would become an educational and community complex for Kafr Aqab.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was greatly alarmed, his spokesperson said. The UN maintains that the centre is United Nations property and therefore immune from interference. UNRWA called the armed entry without its consent unacceptable. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the action challenged UN status and immunities by force.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir celebrated the operation and posted an image of an Israeli flag over the entrance. An AFP journalist reported that forces closed the main road near the centre. The raid occurred one day after representatives of more than 25 diplomatic missions and international organisations visited the facility.
The dispute also reflects conflicting positions over East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied and annexed in 1967 in a move not recognised by much of the international community. It followed demolitions at UNRWA's East Jerusalem headquarters in January. Control of Qalandia therefore affects both the centre's students and the wider confrontation over whether Israel can remove a UN agency from facilities the organisation says are protected international premises. The evidence did not indicate where current trainees would continue their studies.
