UNRWA chief condemns Israeli seizure of East Jerusalem facility

What the report says

UNRWA’s acting commissioner-general, Christian Saunders, has condemned Israel’s seizure of the agency’s Qalandiya Training Centre in East Jerusalem, saying the operation is part of a broader effort to weaken UNRWA and undermine Palestinian rights. The comments were made to Al Jazeera after Israeli forces entered the facility in the Kafr Aqab area on Tuesday, ordered staff to leave and barred them from returning.

According to the report, the raid was accompanied by a heavy military presence in the area and came after the nearby Qalandiya checkpoint was closed. The Jerusalem governorate said five Palestinians were wounded by Israeli gunfire near the site. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also took part, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the evacuation was legal under Israeli legislation.

Saunders said the takeover would prevent hundreds of young Palestinians from receiving education and training at the centre. UNRWA said the facility serves refugees from Qalandiya camp and nearby areas and rejected Israel’s claim that the property had been lawfully reassigned to the Jerusalem Municipality for a future educational and community complex.

The dispute is the latest in a wider confrontation over UNRWA’s role in the occupied Palestinian territories. Saunders argued that efforts to defund or eliminate the agency are tied to the status of Palestinian refugees and related claims such as return, reparations and compensation. More generally, UNRWA operates under a UN General Assembly mandate, but its future remains politically contested.