UNRWA reports $5 million in assets damaged at East Jerusalem training centre after Israeli raid

UNRWA assets worth more than $5 million were stored at the Qalandiya Training Center in occupied East Jerusalem when Israeli forces forcibly entered the facility earlier this week, according to a senior agency official. Anadolu reports that the troops caused damage and left signs of looting after withdrawing.

Roland Friedrich, UNRWA’s director of affairs in the West Bank, said Israeli security forces, municipal staff and an elected official “forcibly and unlawfully” entered the Qalandiya Training Center on 25 August and forced UNRWA staff out. The centre was being prepared for the new academic year and was set to welcome 340 students from across the West Bank the following week.

Israeli authorities remained on the premises after the entry, conducting renovation and clearance work. Friedrich stated in a post on the social media platform X that the Israeli security forces vacated the centre on 28 August, leaving behind damage to UN assets and visible signs of looting.

The facility houses dozens of vocational training workshops, classrooms, dormitories, and administrative buildings, together with valuable tools and equipment used for practical training. Friedrich noted that UNRWA and its international partners have invested heavily in training equipment, infrastructure improvements, maintenance and repairs in recent years, and many of these projects were still ongoing when the raid occurred.

He emphasised Israel’s legal obligation to reverse its actions “without delay” and prevent similar incidents, underscoring the agency’s role in providing Palestinian refugee youth with education and vocational skills.

The Qalandiya centre, founded in 1952, is UNRWA’s oldest technical and vocational training facility in the West Bank, serving 340 young Palestinian refugees annually. It is the agency’s last major site in occupied East Jerusalem, following the closure of six UNRWA schools, two health centres and the destruction of its main headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.

The incident follows mounting Israeli pressure on UNRWA after the Knesset passed two laws in October 2024 restricting the agency’s operations inside Israel, which entered into force in early 2025. The International Court of Justice reaffirmed in October 2025 Israel’s duty to respect the inviolability of UN premises, including UNRWA facilities, and to refrain from interfering with the agency’s property and assets.

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