UNRWA warns of impact on youth after Israeli seizure of Kalandia training centre

Israeli authorities forcibly entered the Kalandia Vocational Training Centre on Tuesday, 24 August, and took control of the facility, according to the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA. The centre was the last UNRWA facility still operating in occupied East Jerusalem, after Israeli authorities closed the agency's other schools and clinics in the city.

The United Nations has strongly condemned those actions, saying that the entry of security forces into a UN facility without the Organisation's permission or approval was unacceptable. 

Secretary-General António Guterres called for the Israeli Government to immediately cease its interference with UNRWA installations and to vacate, return and restore all affected premises to the United Nations without delay.

Earlier this month, there was misinformation circulating about the centre, which prompted UNRWA to issue a statement reaffirming its commitment to education and underlining that the agency remains “essential to ensuring that Palestine refugee children and young people can develop the knowledge, skills and opportunities they need to build their futures”. 

Roland Friedrich, Director of UNRWA Affairs in the West Bank, told us that the incident was part of a wider effort by the current Israeli Government to end UNRWA's activities in occupied East Jerusalem, following the adoption of what he described as "anti-UNRWA" legislation almost a year and a half ago.

The Kalandia centre provides vocational training to young people from refugee camps across the West Bank. Mr. Friedrich warned that its closure would deprive 340 male youth of their right to education and opportunities for the future. 

Roland Friedrich: The situation at the Kalandia Training Centre remains critical. Israeli security forces are still deployed inside the centre, along with Israeli officials from the Municipality of Jerusalem, as they carry out work and alterations to the installation. This is an unacceptable violation – as the Secretary-General has underlined – of the privileges and immunities of the United Nations. The continuation of this situation will very likely deprive 340 male youth from the West Bank of their right to education.

UN News: Can you tell us exactly what happened? What happened to the UNRWA staff who were at the centre?

Roland Friedrich: On Tuesday morning, a large Israeli force arrived and forcibly entered the compound. We had 24 staff on site as we prepared for the new scholastic year, which is scheduled to start next week. Israeli security personnel searched the site, opened the buildings and temporarily held our staff at the site. They were later released. This is an unacceptable violation of the privileges and immunities of the United Nations.

UN News: Were you informed of any reason for the Israeli authorities' entry into the centre or what they were looking for? Do you have any information on the possibility of returning the centre to UNRWA, as requested by the United Nations?

Roland Friedrich: The Secretary-General has been very clear in his demand to urgently restore the situation to the way it was before. The background of what happened goes back to the Israeli anti-UNRWA legislation that was adopted roughly a year and a half ago. We saw the progressive closure of our six schools in Occupied East Jerusalem for 2025, depriving 800 children of education. In December, amendments were made to the anti-UNRWA laws, including a provision to cut water and electricity from UNRWA installations in East Jerusalem, and secondly, to authorize Israeli security forces to seize, our compound, the main headquarters, and the Kalandia Training Centre. 

UN News: You talked about the immunities and privileges of the United Nations and its facilities. Can you explain what that means and why it is important to commit to it all over the world, especially in the occupied Palestinian territory?

Roland Friedrich: Any Member State of the United Nations, per its obligations under the Charter, but also through being a party to the general Convention, is obliged to respect the privileges and immunities of the UN. That means, for instance, the inviolability of UN premises, the respect for immunities relating to staff, to vehicles, as is the case anywhere in the world where we operate. What we saw yesterday and what continues to happen is exactly the opposite [of this]. And I think what is important to keep in mind is that this sets a precedent when it comes to making sure that our staff can work in a safe way, are protected anywhere else in the world in a very dangerous context. 

UN News: Because we're talking about international law and international obligations, what is the UN planning to do now? What do you hope the international community will do about it?

Roland Friedrich: What we hope is that Member States take the responsibility to exercise pressure, so that we can resume our work at this training centre. The key thing is that we can go back to that centre, operate it, and serve the people that we are mandated to serve by the General Assembly.  

UN News: In the context of the Israeli legislation you talked about regarding UNRWA, what can you still do in the West Bank to serve Palestine refugees?

Roland Friedrich: There are two laws. One law is a ban on UNRWA operations and presences in what Israel considers sovereign territory and that applies to our services in occupied East Jerusalem. The occupation of East Jerusalem is not recognized by the UN, nor is in fact the annexation of East Jerusalem. The second law provides for no-contact policy that bans Israeli authorities from being in touch with UNRWA and that has an impact on our operations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. However, we can continue to operate both in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, providing critical humanitarian aid in Gaza through more than 11,000 staff members who work every day, providing education, health consultations, shelter and drinking water. Similarly, in the West Bank, we have 4,600 staff on the ground. We continue to provide education. Last year we provided 1.1 million health consultations through 50 health facilities, and we provided together with partners social protection, cash assistance, and food support to more than 270,000 beneficiaries. I pay the highest respect to my UNRWA colleagues on the ground, Palestinian teachers, nurses, social workers in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank who work under extremely difficult conditions every day. 

UN News: What is the main message you would like the international community to understand about UNRWA's presence, its work and the risks it faces in the West Bank?

Roland Friedrich: One thing that we clearly need to see is a restoration of respect for the United Nations at large, and for UNRWA as an agency mandated by the General Assembly by all State parties. Secondly, the humanitarian space in the West Bank overall is shrinking, and that is a trend that needs to be reversed. And thirdly, we need to reverse the trend of forcible displacement in the West Bank. These are dangerous trends because together with settlement expansion, they create a reality on the ground that makes the two-State solution ever more unlikely to be implemented. It is important to pull back from the brink that we're seeing in the West Bank now and return to a credible pathway towards the two-state solution, and eventually a situation where UNRWA as an agency does not have to do its work anymore because the conflict has moved towards a solution.