UN assets worth more than $5 million were housed at an UNRWA training center in occupied East Jerusalem that Israeli forces forcibly entered earlier this week, with damage and signs of looting found after their withdrawal, a senior agency official said.
Roland Friedrich, director of UNRWA affairs in the West Bank, said Israeli security forces, municipal staff and an elected official "forcibly and unlawfully" entered the Qalandiya Training Center on Aug. 25 and forced UNRWA staff out.
Israeli authorities subsequently remained on the premises and began renovation and clearance work, Friedrich said in a statement on US social media company X.
He said Israeli security forces appeared to have vacated the center on Aug. 28, leaving behind damage to UN assets and signs of looting.
"At the time of the unlawful entry, the KTC was being prepared for the new academic year, expecting to receive 340 students from across the West Bank next week," he added.
The facility includes dozens of vocational training workshops, classrooms, dormitories and administrative buildings, as well as valuable tools and equipment used for practical vocational training.
Friedrich said UNRWA assets at the center are worth more than $5 million, noting that the agency and international partners have made significant investments in training equipment, infrastructure improvements, maintenance and repairs in recent years.
Some of those projects were still underway when Israeli authorities entered the facility, he added.
UNRWA stressed the need to protect the center and its assets because of its role in providing Palestinian refugee youth with education and vocational skills.
Friedrich said Israel has a legal obligation to reverse its actions "without delay" and prevent similar incidents from recurring.
In an interview with Anadolu on Aug. 27, Friedrich said Qalandiya was UNRWA's last major facility in occupied East Jerusalem after Israeli authorities closed six agency schools and two health centers and seized and largely destroyed its main headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
He said the Qalandiya center, established in 1952, is UNRWA's oldest technical and vocational training facility in the West Bank and provides free vocational training to 340 young Palestinian refugees each year.
The developments come amid mounting Israeli pressure on UNRWA after the Knesset passed two laws in October 2024 restricting the agency's operations, including a ban on its activities inside Israel, which took effect in early 2025.
The International Court of Justice reaffirmed in October 2025 Israel's obligation to respect the inviolability of UN premises, including UNRWA facilities, and refrain from interfering with the agency's property and assets.
