Israeli forces stand guard during a raid on the UNRWA Vocational Training Center, located between the Kafr Aqab neighborhood and the Qalandiya refugee camp, in East Jerusalem, August 25, 2026. (Zain JAAFAR/AFP)
Twelve countries, eight of them members of the European Union, strongly condemn Israel’s start of operations this week to dismantle a vocational training center run by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, in the East Jerusalem area of Kafr Aqab.
Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, all of which are members of UNRWA’s Advisory Commission, condemn Israel’s “unlawful” entry and seizure of the center, which sits near the Qalandiya refugee camp, on land Jerusalem says is controlled by the state.
The joint statement reiterates the countries’ support for UNRWA and calls for “immediate and full compliance with the UN obligations allowing UNRWA to carry out its mandated activities without interference,” urging Israel to “halt all disruptions” to the agency’s operations
Israel has long accused UNRWA of fomenting anti-Israel sentiment in its schools, and in the aftermath of the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, also accused it of collaborating with Hamas in Gaza, providing evidence of agency employees who were also terror operatives. The UN agency denies the charges. In late 2024, Israel passed legislation banning UNRWA from Israeli territory, including East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed after the Six-Day War of June 1967.
The Foreign Ministry has said this week’s operations were part of “renovation work” carried out by the Jerusalem Municipality on a “new educational and community complex” in the area “for the benefit of thousands of its Arab residents,” with over NIS 40 million ($13 million) allotted for the project, on land it says has been owned by the Jewish Agency since 1937.
Reference Link:- https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/8-eu-countries-others-condemn-israels-unlawful-dismantling-of-east-jerusalem-unrwa-center/