Israeli police raid UN-run schools in occupied East Jerusalem

Israeli police raided several schools run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday following a government ban on the agency's activities, witnesses said.

Police forces stormed the UNRWA-run Jerusalem Elementary School in Silwan town and interrogated its management members, they said.

The raids also targeted another school in the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood and a vocational training center in the Qalandia refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem, witnesses added.

There was no immediate comment yet from the UNRWA or Israeli police on the raids.

Israel's decision to ban UNRWA's activities took effect on Jan. 30, forcing the UN agency to shut down all its operations in East Jerusalem.

UNRWA, established in 1949, provides health, education and social services to Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, Lebanon, Jordan and Gaza.