RAMALLAH, August 25, 2026 (WAFA) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned Israel’s raid and forced evacuation of the Qalandiya Vocational Training Center, operated by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem.
Israeli authorities expelled the staff present and prevented their return, in flagrant violation of international law and the inviolability, immunities, and privileges of UN facilities. This constitutes a dangerous escalation targeting the UN presence in occupied Jerusalem, especially as it comes just one day after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs conducted a field visit to Qalandia refugee camp for ambassadors accredited to the State of Palestine.
The Ministry also condemned the participation of Israeli government officials in the storming and evacuation, including the extremist settler minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the accompanying field measures aimed at consolidating control over the center and its surroundings.
The Ministry considered the raid as a deliberate official insistence on challenging the status and immunities of the United Nations and imposing facts on the ground by force on its institutions and facilities.
It asserted that targeting the Qalandia center goes beyond an attack on a specific building or facility, striking at the very core of UNRWA's international mandate and its role in protecting and serving Palestinian refugees. It constitutes an attempt to undermine the relief, education, health, and protection mechanisms established by the international community to serve refugees.
The Ministry further stated that targeting UNRWA is part of a war of extermination against the Palestinian people, a continuous effort to undermine their inalienable rights, foremost among them their right of return and compensation in accordance with Resolution 194.
The Ministry emphasized that East Jerusalem is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory, and that the occupying power has no sovereignty over it. It has no right to alter the legal status of the city, dispose of existing UN facilities there, or infringe upon their immunities and privileges.
The Ministry also affirmed that imposing measures by force on UN institutions does not create any rights or change the existing legal status, but rather represents a further violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions.
The Ministry highlighted the International Court of Justice's legal opinion on UNRWA and Israel's obligations as an occupying power to enable the organization to operate in the territory of the State of Palestine. It also emphasized the international community's obligations to protect the international organization and take all necessary practical steps to halt the repeated violations against it.
The Ministry called upon UN member states, the UN Secretary-General, the Security Council, and all relevant international parties to adopt a firm international stance and take urgent and effective measures to protect the Qalandia center and all UNRWA facilities in East Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territory. It urged them to ensure the return of UNRWA staff and enable them to carry out their duties, and to prevent the occupying authorities from transforming this aggression into a permanent reality.
The Ministry stressed that Israel has become a rogue state, operating outside the bounds of international law. It rejects UN resolutions and has been working to undermine the rights of Palestinian refugees for eight decades. By obstructing the work of UNRWA, a UN agency, Israel has violated the conditions of its membership in the United Nations. The international community must address this situation.
The Ministry called on member states to assume their legal and political responsibilities in protecting the instruments of the United Nations and its agencies, and to use all available mechanisms within the United Nations system, including imposing sanctions, to ensure respect for the United Nations, UNRWA’s immunities and mandate, and to stop any measures aimed at confiscating its facilities or disrupting its work, stressing that mere condemnation is no longer sufficient in the face of repeated attacks on UN institutions and attempts to impose a fait accompli by force on the rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them their right to self-determination, independence and the return of refugees.
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