Israeli security forces seized and evacuated the Qalandia Training Centre in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday, shuttering the final operating facility of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the city. Led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the raid marks the climax of a sweeping legislative and physical campaign to dismantle the UN refugee agency inside Israeli-claimed territory.
The Fall of East Jerusalem’s Last UNRWA Stronghold
The takeover of the Qalandia Training Centre—known locally as the Qalandiya Vocational Training Institute—erases a pillar of educational support that stood for over seven decades. Established in 1952 on land provided by the Jordanian government, the campus once offered free vocational training to roughly 340 Palestinian refugee teenagers each year. Students traveled from camps across the West Bank to learn skilled trades spanning carpentry, car mechanics, and plumbing across 16 specialisations.
On Tuesday, armed Israeli forces entered the 8.8-hectare (88-dunam) campus without authorization or consent from the United Nations. Approximately 40 employees faced brief questioning before receiving direct orders to evacuate the grounds immediately. Following the expulsion, forces raised the Israeli flag in the institute’s courtyard while authorities began stripping equipment from the facility.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir broadcasted the operation live from the administrative wing. I am sitting in what used to be the Unrwa director’s office,
Ben-Gvir stated in a video published online. On my watch there is no Unrwa, there is no management, they will not be here.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the premier personally ordered the evacuation. The Israeli government defends the clampdown by pointing to allegations that select UNRWA staff members participated in the deadly, Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023—charges that the agency strongly denies.
International Condemnation and Legal Precedents
The incursion triggered swift international rebukes. UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the raid through his spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, reminding member states that under international law, all UN premises are inviolable and immune from any form of interference.
UNRWA officials echoed those concerns, emphasizing that the Qalandia Training Centre holds explicit protected status under international diplomatic immunities. Yet, this enforcement follows a systematic legal blockade initiated by Israel’s parliament in 2024. Lawmakers passed legislation banning UNRWA operations within Israel, a mandate that took full effect across 2025 and targeted occupied East Jerusalem—annexed by Israel in 1980 in a move rejected by international law.
Prior to Tuesday’s seizure, Israeli authorities had already shut down six UNRWA-run schools, three health centers, and the agency’s regional headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. With the Qalandia facility now under state control, the agency has zero operational footprint left in East Jerusalem.
Local Fallout and Wider Institutional Purges
Tensions ran high outside the perimeter walls during the operation. Ahead of the raid, Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear gas to disperse crowds of Palestinians protesting the maneuver near the Qalandia refugee camp, leaving a Palestinian boy shot and wounded.
Marouf al-Rifai, an adviser to the governor of the Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem governorate, noted that the takeover reflects a broader municipal strategy targeting international civil society. According to al-Rifai, authorities have revoked the licenses or ordered the closure of roughly 36 international organizations in Jerusalem in recent months, forcing some to relocate their headquarters to Ramallah.
Targeting Unrwa institutions raises concerns that extend beyond the agency itself, as it is a UN agency funded by its member states,
al-Rifai said. This is a very dangerous indication that institutions with international and UN immunity are being targeted.
Israeli authorities intend to repurpose parts of the evacuated Qalandia compound into a public school operating under the Israeli curriculum.
