Israel expands campaign against UNRWA to push West Bank annexation
Al Jazeera Staff
Israeli forces raided an UNRWA training center in occupied East Jerusalem, a move analysts say advances plans to annex the West Bank and undermine Palestinian refugee rights. The raid, led by minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, drew international condemnation and concerns over systematic efforts to strip essential services from millions of Palestinians.
Israeli forces raided the Qalandiya Training Center, run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), in occupied East Jerusalem. Officials and analysts described the move as a key step toward dismantling international protections for refugees and consolidating control over the West Bank.
The raid on Tuesday was led by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, with the Israeli government justifying it under a 2024 law banning UNRWA's operations. Qatar strongly condemned the action, warning of systematic efforts to deprive millions of Palestinians of essential services.
Strategic annexation ambitions
Adel Shadid, an expert on Israeli affairs, told Al Jazeera that the attack is part of a broader geopolitical plan involving the historic airport near the training center at the boundary between East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
“The academy sits right next to the historic Qalandiya Airport, built more than 106 years ago,” Shadid said. “The occupying forces want to take full control of this airport to establish a large settlement with more than 9,000 housing units, along with a Jewish heritage center and to erase the historical and geographical marks of Jordan here.”
“By controlling these two areas and annexing them to the occupying municipality, the pillars of the 'Greater Jerusalem' project will be complete. This project will cut off about 12 to 13 percent of the total area of the West Bank,” he added. The authorities would control an area exceeding 800 square kilometers, effectively destroying Palestinian territorial continuity.
Retired Lebanese Brigadier General Elias Hanna said Qalandiya's significance ties into a larger settlement project in the West Bank, based on creating settlement blocs to control geographical continuity between Palestinian areas and isolate them from each other. Control of the area could affect movement and connectivity between Jerusalem and Ramallah.
Targeting refugee rights
UNRWA's media adviser, Adnan Abu Hasna, said the agency was not given prior notice of any Israeli action. He called it an unprecedented measure, with the UN flag lowered and the headquarters seized in an unusual manner, representing a dangerous escalation against international humanitarian law, UN law, and the mandate given to UNRWA by the General Assembly.
According to Abu Hasna, the raid violates the 1967 agreement between UNRWA and Israel regarding facilitating operations, protecting facilities, staff, and the immunity of the agency's headquarters. UNRWA is facing a financial crisis due to political funding cuts, particularly from the United States, with a deficit of $360 million, roughly 30 percent of the agency's annual budget.
Cooperation between settlers and military
Expert Anas Abu Arqoub described the division of roles and full integration between state forces and armed settlers. Settler organizations are essentially armed groups with clear leadership structures, standing and reserve fighter teams, and military combat doctrines. A large portion of them are members of the Israeli military, equipped with weapons and participating in joint training.
The Israeli National Security Studies Institute recently noted that settler forces have the capability, under the guise of “loss of control,” to carry out complete ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.
US backing
Ghassan Khatib, a political science professor at Birzeit University, emphasized Washington's decisive role. “The weakness of the United Nations is one of two main factors allowing Israel to continue violating international law. The most important factor is the US position, the real sponsor of this Israeli rebellion,” he said, pointing to a direct correlation between the pace of violations and Donald Trump's return to the US presidency about two years ago.
Mohammed Saeed, director of public relations for the Qalandiya refugee camp popular committee, viewed the raid as a message challenging diplomacy and reflecting a domestic political stance: “We are the owners of this land, and we decide its fate.”
