Israel seized UNRWA compound in Jerusalem
Israeli security forces forcibly evacuated employees from the longstanding UNRWA Kalandia Training Center in east Jerusalem, which had been operational for over seven decades. The operation involved armored vehicles and security personnel, and UNRWA reported about 20 staff members present at the time. The Israeli government has accused UNRWA of fostering anti-Israel sentiment and collaborating with Hamas, especially after some employees participated in attacks on October 7, 2023. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel will prevent organizations linked to terrorism from operating within its borders, including the evacuation of the UNRWA compound in kafr Aqab. In place of the destroyed center, Israel plans to invest over $1.3 billion to develop a new community and educational complex aimed at serving local Arab residents. The UN and international legal bodies have emphasized that the Kalandia Training Center is inviolable and that Israel’s compliance with international obligations is required to ensure aid and relief efforts continue. Ther is dispute over land rights, with the Israeli government asserting ownership sence 1937 and UNRWA claiming land was granted by Jordan.
Israeli security forces forcibly seized and removed the employees inside the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees Kalandia Training Center in East Jerusalem on Tuesday.
The building had been UNRWA’s oldest vocational training center and had been open for more than seven decades. UNRWA said in a statement, “at least four armored vehicles” entered the United Nations compound “accompanied by more than 50 Israeli security personnel,” while roughly 20 staff members were on site at the time.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others within the Israeli government have repeatedly accused UNRWA of fomenting anti-Israel sentiment in its schools and of collaborating with Hamas after a small percentage of employees were involved in the terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel. Since then, they have taken a series of steps to try to end UNRWA’s work inside Israel’s borders.
“The State of Israel will not allow an organization whose employees were complicit in terrorism and the October 7 massacre to operate within its territory, and will act against it by all means at its disposal,” he said on Monday, in regards to “the evacuation of the UNRWA compound in Kafr Aqab, Jerusalem.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry announced the Jerusalem Municipality will invest NIS 40 billion, which is more than $1.3 billion, in renovations to build a new “educational and community complex.” The ministry also said, “In the coming years, the community complex is expected to include additional schools, a mosque, sports and healthcare facilities, all for the benefit of the local community.”
A spokesperson for the foreign ministry, Oren Marmorstein, said, “The center and school are planned to serve thousands of Arab residents of this neighborhood.”
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U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process ad interim, Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, said, “The Kalandia Training Centre is United Nations premises and is inviolable and immune from any form of interference.”
The Foreign Ministry said the Jewish National Fund has owned the land since 1937 and that UNRWA has “no property rights to the plot,” while UNRWA disputes that, arguing the land was given to it by the Jordanian government when it controlled East Jerusalem.
The International Court of Justice also issued an advisory opinion in October 2025 following a request from the U.N. General Assembly, in which the body determined Israel is obligated to fulfill its obligations under humanitarian law, including not impeding relief operations conducted by the U.N.
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