Israel seizes UNRWA training center in occupied East Jerusalem

Israel on Tuesday announced the seizure of the Qalandia Training Center of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), north of occupied East Jerusalem, prompting the Palestinian presidency to call for urgent UN Security Council action.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Jerusalem Municipality had begun work to establish a new educational and community complex in the Kafr Aqab neighborhood that it claimed would serve thousands of Palestinian residents.

The ministry alleged that the site had been owned by the Jewish National Fund since 1937 and had been allocated to the Jerusalem Municipality for the project.

It said the planned complex is expected to include additional schools, a mosque, sports facilities, and health facilities in the coming years.

Israel also claimed that UNRWA had fenced off the land for decades despite having no ownership rights over it.

The ministry cited legislation passed by the Israeli Knesset in October 2024 banning the agency’s activities in Israel.

UNRWA, however, maintains that the Qalandia Training Center is a UN facility and is protected under international law.

The Palestinian presidency, for its part, called on the UN Security Council to convene urgently and adopt “binding decisions and measures” to halt Israeli actions against UN premises and institutions in East Jerusalem and Qalandia.

In a statement carried by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the presidency said Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had entered UN facilities as a step toward demolishing UNRWA facilities in Qalandia.

It called for international protection for the facilities so they can continue providing services to Palestinian refugees, saying attacks on UN premises in occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, constitute a “serious violation” of international law and the immunity of international institutions.

​​​​​​​The presidency also urged the international community to implement relevant UN resolutions, including Security Council Resolution 2334, and halt Israeli measures that it said undermine the two-state solution.