DaysofPal— Israeli occupation forces raided the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Training Center in Qalandia refugee camp, north of occupied East Jerusalem, on Monday, detaining teaching and administrative staff inside the facility, according to the Jerusalem Governorate.
In a statement, the governorate said occupation forces stormed the center, fired tear gas canisters, and confined staff members inside one of the building’s halls during the raid.
Israeli occupation forces also climbed onto the roof of the Qalandia camp’s local committee building, the statement added.
The raid followed an overnight military incursion into Qalandia refugee camp, during which occupation forces deployed across several neighborhoods and fired large quantities of stun grenades and tear gas, sparking a fire, according to the governorate.
The latest raid came nearly six weeks after the Jerusalem Governorate warned of an Israeli plan to demolish UNRWA’s training center in Qalandia.
On June 11, the governorate said Israeli municipal authorities were advancing plans to establish a new educational complex on land belonging to the center.
According to UNRWA, the training center serves around 350 students between the ages of 15 and 19. The facility is built on land allocated to the agency by the Jordanian government before Israel’s occupation of the West Bank in 1967.
Palestinian officials say Israel’s actions are part of broader efforts to seize Palestinian land and undermine Palestinian and international institutions operating in occupied East Jerusalem, with the aim of consolidating its occupation of the city and altering its demographic and cultural character.
According to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Israeli authorities carried out 341 demolition operations during the first half of this year, destroying 740 Palestinian structures and affecting 923 Palestinians.
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