UNRWA condemns Israel's seizure of training center in East Jerusalem
Ahmad Damen
UNRWA's acting chief Christian Saunders condemned Israel's seizure of a UN training center in East Jerusalem, calling it part of a campaign to weaken the agency and erase Palestinian refugee rights. The raid, which involved far-right minister Ben-Gvir, left students—mainly from poor families—without access to education.
UNRWA's acting commissioner-general, Christian Saunders, on August 27 condemned Israel's raid and seizure of the agency's training center in East Jerusalem, describing the incident as part of a campaign to weaken UNRWA and erase Palestinian rights.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Saunders accused Israel of violating United Nations facilities but stressed that “might cannot prevail” in resolving the conflict and that UNRWA “is not going anywhere.”
Israeli forces raided and seized the Qalandiya Training Center in the Kafr Aqab neighborhood on August 26, forcing UNRWA staff to leave and barring their return. According to the Jerusalem governorate, five Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire near the area.
Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir took part in the raid and declared “there is no place for UNRWA in Jerusalem and Israel.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the eviction was legal and carried out under laws passed by Israel.
Saunders said the seizure deprives hundreds of Palestinian youth of educational opportunities and violates protections afforded to UN facilities under international law. “340 young people will not receive the education, the training that they need,” he said, expressing regret that students—mostly from disadvantaged families—will miss the chance to learn skills to “live a full and dignified life.”
The Qalandiya center is part of UNRWA's vast network of services for Palestinian refugees, serving some 16,000 refugees from the Qalandiya camp and other parts of the occupied West Bank. The raid came after Israel closed the nearby Qalandiya checkpoint and deployed a heavy military presence in the area.
Israeli officials claim the land is owned by the Jewish National Fund and was transferred to the Jerusalem municipality for the planned educational and community complex. They also cite an Israeli law passed in October 2024 to restrict UNRWA's operations. However, UNRWA rejects these claims, asserting that the center is a UN facility protected under international law.
UNRWA is under severe pressure amid Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza and abuses in the West Bank, with many agency staff killed. Saunders said the campaign against UNRWA aims to weaken the agency, cut funding, and tie it to the broader issue of Palestinian refugee rights.
“If UNRWA is defunded and eliminated, they hope the Palestinian refugee issue will disappear, meaning the right of return, compensation, and reparations will also be gone,” he stressed. He also pointed out that UNRWA's mandate comes directly from the UN General Assembly, providing humanitarian and public services while the political dispute between Israel and Palestine remains unresolved.
“We are a humanitarian organization, a development organization. We are mandated by the UN General Assembly to provide essential services,” Saunders declared, adding that UNRWA will continue this work “until the General Assembly decides otherwise, or there is a sustainable solution to the Palestinian issue.”
However, he acknowledged the limits of the UN in preventing further violations without collective action from member states. “I don't think the UN can say that this will not continue to happen. The UN is a sum of its member states, and member states need the collective will to address this. For over seven decades, that has not happened,” he said.
