Today at approximately 10:00, Israeli Security Forces (ISF) forcibly entered the UNRWA Kalandia Training Centre (KTC) in occupied East Jerusalem. At least four armoured vehicles entered the UN premises, accompanied by more than 50 Israeli security personnel. Approximately 20 UNRWA staff members were on site at the time. Israeli officials subsequently made public statements indicating that the premises had been seized by the Israeli authorities.
UNRWA unequivocally condemns this unauthorised and deeply concerning incursion into the Kalandia Training Centre. The entry of armed security forces into a United Nations facility, without the authorisation or consent of the United Nations, is unacceptable. The KTC is a United Nations facility protected by the privileges and immunities afforded to the Organisation under international law. Its inviolability must be fully respected.
The Kalandia Training Centre is not merely a building. It is UNRWA's oldest vocational training centre and has served Palestine Refugees for more than seven decades. Thousands of Palestine Refugees have graduated from the KTC and gone on to contribute to local and regional labour markets. Every year, the centre provides hundreds of Palestine Refugee students from refugee camps across the occupied West Bank - many of whom face severe socio-economic hardship - with access to free vocational education and a pathway towards greater economic independence.
Any attempt to take possession of, interfere with, or otherwise undermine the functioning of an UNRWA facility strikes at the ability of the United Nations to carry out its mandate. UNRWA will continue to insist on the protection of its premises, personnel and operations and on respect for the privileges and immunities accorded to the United Nations under international law.
UNRWA calls on the international community to act immediately and decisively to safeguard the inviolability of the Kalandia Training Centre and all other United Nations facilities in occupied East Jerusalem. The international community must ensure that United Nations premises are protected from unauthorised entry and seizure, and that UNRWA can continue delivering essential services to Palestine Refugee communities without intimidation, obstruction or interference.
The integrity and inviolability of United Nations premises cannot be conditional. They must be respected, upheld and protected.
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UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine Refugees in the Agency's area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.
UNRWA operates in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 War. Amid a failure to find a just and lasting solution to the plight of that generation of Palestine Refugees and subsequent ones, millions continue to be displaced and in need of support, over 75 years on.
UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development. It does this through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.
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