JERUSALEM, Thursday, August 6, 2026 (WAFA) – The Jerusalem Governorate said that the Israeli assault on Qalandiya refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem, is part of a systematic policy targeting Palestinian refugee camps and the refugee issue, alongside measures aimed at undermining the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

In a statement issued Thursday, the Governorate said the developments in Qalandiya camp are taking place amid accelerating settlement expansion in the area and attempts to impose new realities on the ground. It pointed to efforts to open the settlement road known as Road 45 and link it to the tunnel beneath the former Jerusalem International Airport, saying this would fragment Palestinian geography and isolate Jerusalem from its surroundings in the central West Bank.

The Governorate warned that these measures aim to create the conditions necessary for advancing major settlement projects, altering the demographic and geographic character of the area, and separating Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings to the north.

It called for urgent international action to halt Israeli violations and protect Palestinian refugee camps and the refugee issue, which it described as an essential part of the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights.

K.T