Israeli officials raided UNRWA facilities in East Jerusalem in effort to enforce law against the UN body

Jerusalem municipal officials and Border Police forces entered several facilities belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem on Tuesday, including a compound in Qalandia.

The compound, which includes schools, kindergartens, equipment warehouses, and offices of UNRWA, was supposed to be transferred to the municipality in accordance with a 2022 decision by the Israel Land Council, and as part of the application of UNRWA laws in Israel. The municipal officials came to examine the compound, take measurements, and prepare a work plan for its evacuation. 

According to statements by UNRWA, the border police and Jerusalem municipality staff entered the Qalandia Training Centre by force Tuesday morning, firing tear gas and stun grenades. 

UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini posted about the raid to 𝕏, saying, “Children and young people in East Jerusalem denied of their right to education in UNRWA schools.” 

“Today, Israeli Forces & personnel from the Jerusalem Municipality have forcefully entered the UNRWA [Qalandia] Training Centre and ordered its immediate evacuation,” Lazzarini wrote. “At least 350 students and 30 staff were present and impacted. Tear gas and sound bombs were fired.” 

Lazzarini claimed the municipal actions, "impacted 250 children in three UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem, plus 350 trainees in the [Qalandia] Training Centre.” 

The Palestinian Authority-run Wafa news site claimed that municipal officials “stormed the Jerusalem Boys' Elementary School affiliated with UNRWA in the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood of Jerusalem, and forced its staff to close its doors after evacuating the students from it.” 

The goal of the action is the transfer of the compound, which has been in the hands of UNRWA for decades, to the Jerusalem Municipality.

This is in accordance with a 2022 decision by the Israel Land Council, declaring  that the compound must be transferred to the municipality's sovereignty. It also comes after the UNRWA law, passed in October, banned UNRWA activities within Israeli territory. 

The laws against UNRWA were passed in response to numerous revelations in recent months of ties between the Hamas terrorist organization and UNRWA, after several of its staff members were found to be members of Hamas and others reportedly participated in the Oct. 7 mass terror attack.

The action by the officials came after the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement on Monday, calling for the UNRWA law to be implemented after coming into effect on Jan. 31 of this year. 

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed that the UNRWA law, which was passed by the Knesset with broad support, be enforced immediately,” the statement said. “There are no restrictions on the implementation of the Prime Minister's directive.” 

However, according to a report in Israel Hayom late on Tuesday evening, the raid on the Qalandia compound was not successful. 

Citing participants in a Zoom call with Jerusalem Municipal officials and members of the National Security Council on Tuesday evening, the new site reported that “the operation was uncoordinated and did not yield the required results.” 

A senior member of the Jerusalem Municipal Council said, "The decision to evacuate is final, but it has not been possible so far because UNRWA has not left there.”

Israel Hayom also reported that during the Zoom conference, it was decided that there is a need “to strengthen public diplomacy among the residents of East Jerusalem and the Jerusalem envelope.” 

They concluded that the Municipality needs “to make the alternatives to UNRWA institutions accessible to the general public, in the hope that they will prefer to use these services over the organization's services.”