AMMAN — The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned the Israeli authorities’ evacuation of UNRWA-run Qalandia training centre in occupied Jerusalem as a “blatant violation of international law and the immunities of the UN and its agencies.”

 

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Fouad Majali reiterated Jordan’s “absolute rejection and strong condemnation of Israel’s continued systematic campaign targeting the relief agency, UNRWA, restricting its activities and institutions.

 

Majali said the Israeli measures target UNRWA’s presence and its role in upholding the right of Palestinian refugees to return and receive compensation under international law, particularly Resolution 194.

 

He called on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities to end Israeli decisions and practices targeting UNRWA and provide the necessary political and financial support for the agency to continue delivering vital services to Palestinian refugees across its five fields of operation, in line with its UN mandate.

 

Israeli forces began evicting Qalandia training centre in east Jerusalem suburb on Tuesday, in its latest move targeting the beleaguered organisation, according to AFP.

 

It follows repeated warnings by UNRWA that Israeli authorities were threatening its Qalandia training centre, located between the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Kafr Aqab and the Qalandia refugee camp.

 

The raid on the Qalandia training centre comes a day after representatives from more than 25 diplomatic missions and international organisations visited the site.

 

The centre was established in 1952 and offers vocational training to around 340 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank every year, according to UNRWA.

 

UNRWA said that Israeli forces "forcibly entered" the training centre at around 10 am (0700 GMT), with at least four armoured vehicles entering the premises, accompanied by more than 50 Israeli security personnel.

 

Around 20 UNRWA staff were on site at the time, it said.

 

"UNRWA unequivocally condemns this unauthorised and deeply concerning incursion," it added, saying the "entry of armed security forces into a United Nations facility, without the authorisation or consent of the United Nations, is unacceptable."

 

Israel has repeatedly accused UNRWA of providing cover for Hamas militants, claiming that some of its employees took part in the group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

 

Legislation severing ties with the agency and banning it from operating on Israeli territory took effect in January 2025.