Israel’s Evacuation of UNRWA’s Qalandia Center Is a Grave Assault on the United Nations, International Law and the Rights of Palestinian Refugees
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates strongly condemns the Israeli occupation authorities’ storming and forced evacuation today of the Qalandia Vocational Training Center, operated by UNRWA in occupied East Jerusalem. The staff present at the center were expelled and prevented from returning. This constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and of the inviolability, privileges, and immunities of United Nations premises and personnel, as well as a dangerous escalation in Israel’s targeting of the United Nations presence in occupied Jerusalem.
The assault is particularly grave as it comes only one day after the Ministry organized a field tour for ambassadors accredited to the State of Palestine at Qalandia Refugee Camp.
The participation of senior Israeli government officials in the storming and forced evacuation, including far-right settler minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is also strongly condemned. The accompanying measures to tighten Israeli control over the center and its surroundings reflect an official determination to defy the status, privileges, and immunities of the United Nations and to impose facts on the ground by force upon its institutions and facilities.
The targeting of the Qalandia Center is not merely an assault on a building or facility. It strikes at the international mandate of UNRWA and its role in protecting and serving Palestinian refugees. It also represents an attempt to dismantle the mechanisms established by the international community to provide refugees with relief, education, healthcare, and protection.
The assault on UNRWA forms part of Israel’s ongoing genocidal war against the Palestinian people and its sustained campaign to undermine their inalienable rights, foremost among them the right of return and compensation in accordance with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194.
East Jerusalem is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory. As the occupying power, Israel has no sovereignty over the city and no right to alter its legal status, interfere with United Nations facilities located there, or violate their privileges and immunities. The forcible seizure and control of United Nations premises cannot create any legal right or alter the established legal status of the city. On the contrary, it constitutes a further violation of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.
The Ministry recalls the International Court of Justice advisory opinion affirming Israel’s obligations to enable UNRWA to carry out its mandate in the State of Palestine. The international community must take immediate and effective measures to protect the Qalandia Center and all UNRWA facilities, ensure the return of its personnel, and prevent Israel from turning this assault into a permanent fait accompli.
Israel has become a rogue state operating in defiance of international law and openly rejecting United Nations resolutions. For eight decades, it has undermined the rights of Palestinian refugees and obstructed UNRWA’s work. The international community must seriously review the consequences of these grave and persistent violations.
All Member States must fulfill their legal and political responsibilities and use every available UN mechanism, including sanctions, to protect the United Nations, uphold UNRWA’s privileges and immunities, and preserve its mandate. All measures aimed at seizing UNRWA facilities or obstructing its operations must cease immediately.
Mere condemnation is no longer sufficient. Israel’s repeated assaults on UN institutions and attempts to impose facts on the ground by force require concrete international measures to uphold international law and protect the Palestinian people’s fundamental rights, including self-determination, independence, and the right of return.