Israeli forces storm six UNRWA schools in Jerusalem

Pupils present during raids by 'heavily armed' personnel

An UNRWA school in the Shuafat Refugee Camp in East Jerusalem. AP

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Israeli forces entered and closed Jerusalem schools run by the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees on Thursday in the latest step by authorities to push the organisation out of the territory.

Heavily armed Israeli personnel, along with municipal and education officials, raided three UNRWA schools in the Shuafat refugee camp, detaining a staff member and ordering others to dismiss students immediately, according to a statement from the organisation. It said the actions were a “violation of international law”.

More than 550 pupils aged six to 15 were in attendance. UNRWA officials also reported that Israeli forces were stationed at three other schools run by the agency, where teachers dismissed 250 pupils “to ensure their safety”.

A pupil and a teacher leave an UNRWA school in the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem on Thursday. AP

Israeli legislation to ban the organisation came into effect in January and closure orders were issued by police to the Jerusalem schools last month. Israel has long been strongly opposed to the work and existence of UNRWA, criticising its school curriculums, which it says encourage incitement and the organisation’s role in extending continuing refugee status to Palestinians whose families were dispossessed and displaced in the 1948 war.

Israeli criticism became even more intense after the attacks of October 7, 2023. It alleged that about 10 per cent of UNRWA staff in the Gaza Strip, about 1,200 people, were affiliated with Palestinian militant groups who carried out the attacks in southern Israel. UNRWA says it has not received any information, “let alone evidence”, from Israel or any UN member state about the claim.

The remains of an UNRWA school housing displaced people after an Israeli strike in the Bureij refugee camp on Wednesday. AFP

UNRWA said that Thursday’s raids in Jerusalem were “traumatising 800 young children who are at immediate risk of losing their access to education”. Israeli officials said school places in the Israeli system will be created for the pupils, but few details have been given. The organisation also provides health care, financial support and vocational training, among other services, which are also affected by the ban.

Palestinian human rights organisation Adalah, which is fighting the UNRWA ban in the Supreme Court, called for “urgent international intervention” after the school raids.

Israel’s police said its "officers were present solely to escort and ensure the safety of Education Ministry personnel as they carried out their official duties".