After Israeli seizure of Kalandia training centre, UNRWA warns of impact on youth
Israeli security forces forcibly entered the UN Relief and Works Agency’s (UNRWA) Kalandia Vocational Training Centre in occupied East Jerusalem on 24 August and still occupy the facility, UNRWA said.
Source: United Nations News · August 28, 2026 at 8:01 AM · AI-assisted report
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JERUSALEM, EAST JERUSALEM, WEST BANK, GAZA STRIP, OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY, 28 AUGUST 2026 —
Israeli security forces forcibly entered the UN Relief and Works Agency’s (UNRWA) Kalandia Vocational Training Centre in occupied East Jerusalem on 24 August and still occupy the facility, UNRWA said.
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The centre was the last UN-run vocational school in East Jerusalem after Israeli authorities closed six UNRWA schools and clinics in the city earlier this year. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the entry “unacceptable” and demanded Israel immediately restore the premises to UN control.
Roland Friedrich, UNRWA Director of Affairs in the West Bank, said 24 agency staff were held at the site on Tuesday morning while Israeli forces searched buildings and altered the installation. The staff were later released.
“The situation at the Kalandia Training Centre remains critical,” Friedrich told UN News. “Israeli security forces are still deployed inside the centre, along with officials from the Jerusalem Municipality, and they are carrying out work that violates the inviolability of UN premises.”
The centre provides vocational training to 340 young men from West Bank refugee camps. Friedrich warned that ongoing interference would deprive those students of education and future opportunities.
The seizure follows amendments to Israeli legislation adopted 18 months ago that authorise security forces to take over UNRWA facilities in East Jerusalem and cut water and electricity to them. Israel has progressively closed UNRWA’s six East Jerusalem schools for the 2025 academic year, removing education for 800 children.
UNRWA said the actions violate the UN Charter and the General Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which require states to respect the inviolability of UN premises and staff anywhere in the world.
“This sets a dangerous precedent for the safety of UN staff and operations globally,” Friedrich said.
Guterres urged UN member states to press Israel to restore the centre to UN control. The agency said it continues to provide education, health and humanitarian aid across the West Bank and Gaza despite shrinking humanitarian space and settlement expansion.
In the West Bank, UNRWA employs 4,600 staff and delivered 1.1 million health consultations last year. In Gaza, more than 11,000 staff provide education, shelter and drinking water under “extremely difficult conditions,” Friedrich said.
UNRWA called on the international community to restore respect for UN immunities and reverse trends of forced displacement and settlement growth that are narrowing the humanitarian space in the West Bank.