The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said its Qalandia Training Center in occupied East Jerusalem remains fully operational, rejecting Israeli claims about the facility as false and misleading. UNRWA said protecting Palestinian refugee children’s right to education has been central to its mandate for more than seven decades.
UNRWA said the center continues to provide vocational and technical training to hundreds of young Palestinians each year, enabling them to gain skills that support access to the labor market and greater economic independence amid severe social and economic deprivation.
UNRWA said the center is open and continues to provide educational and vocational programs for Palestinian refugee children and young people.
The agency noted that it provides basic education to approximately 48,000 children across the occupied West Bank, along with vocational training for more than 2,000 young men and women. It underscored that the Qalandia Training Center is a key part of these efforts.
UNRWA said the center is located in occupied East Jerusalem and maintained that Israel does not possess sovereign authority there. The agency said Israel, as a UN member state, is obligated to facilitate UNRWA’s operations in the occupied Palestinian territory, including at the Qalandia Training Center, and that the International Court of Justice reaffirmed this obligation in October 2025.
Any closure or confiscation of the center, the agency warned, would directly and harmfully impact Palestinian refugees, including children.
UNRWA said Israeli authorities forcibly closed six of its East Jerusalem schools in May 2025, affecting about 800 children. The agency said remaining schools serving refugee children are overcrowded and under-resourced and warned that further disruption would widen gaps in access to education. It said Israel must allow UNRWA to continue providing services mandated by the UN General Assembly.
The Qalandia Training Center, established in 1952 as UNRWA’s first vocational facility, enrolls around 340 students each year and offers 16 specializations, including electromechanics, automotive mechatronics, carpentry, construction, communications, and interior design.
UNRWA said 90% of the center’s graduates secure employment. According to the agency, the 80-dunam compound includes workshops, classrooms, dormitories, and administrative buildings, with assets valued at more than $5 million. UNRWA also said donor states have invested significantly in renovations in recent years.
UNRWA also operates four schools serving 1,600 students and a health center in the adjacent Qalandia Refugee Camp. The agency said the Jordanian government granted the training center’s land to UNRWA under a 1952 agreement that remains in force.
UNRWA said its facilities, including the Qalandia Training Center, are protected by United Nations privileges and immunities under international law and are therefore inviolable and immune from legal or administrative interference.
The agency reported six unauthorized entries by Israeli authorities into the center since the beginning of 2026, along with at least ten fires caused by tear‑gas grenades fired by Israeli forces over the past four weeks.
UNRWA said it was aware of a plan reportedly prepared by the Jerusalem Municipality in April 2026 that appeared to propose reallocating the center’s land for educational, community, social and medical facilities, as well as a transportation hub. The agency said implementing the reported plan would require demolishing most of the existing center.
UNRWA warned that any attempt by Israeli authorities to advance such a plan would raise serious concerns regarding Israel’s obligations under international law, including its responsibilities as a UN member state.
The agency called on Israel to meet its obligations and continue providing all necessary support for UNRWA’s operations in the occupied Palestinian territory, including the Qalandiya Training Center.
