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Israeli military personnel on Tuesday, August 25, raided a key training centre run by the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), during which a Palestinian boy was shot and at least five others were injured.

The Israel Defence Force (IDF) soldiers, before the raid, had effectively shut down the nearby Qalandiya checkpoint between the northern West Bank and East Jerusalem. The targeted Qalandiya Training Centre operated by the UNRWA was a major relief centre for Palestinians in the Kafr Aqab neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem.

A video filmed during the raid shows Israeli military firing live ammunition at a group of Palestinian teenagers, of whom one was fatally shot.

Ben-Gvir celebrates raid from UNRWA office

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir participated in the raid and later shared a video on social media celebrating the takeover. From the office of the UNRWA director, Ben-Gvir said, “The police, the army, the border police, civil administration and the Masada Prison Service all joined together in a major operation to remove UNRWA.”

He announced that a school will be built in place of the training centre, adding that “whoever supports terrorism must be removed in disgrace.”

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the takeover was completely lawful. “In accordance with my directive and following the law we passed, the evacuation of the UNRWA compound in Kafr Aqab, Jerusalem, began today,” he wrote on X.

The Jerusalem Municipality had already begun work to make the centre a new education and community complex, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry said the project was aimed at serving Palestinian residents in the neighbourhood with facilities like sports grounds, health centres, mosques and schools.

Forcible, unauthorised entry by Israeli forces: UNRWA

The UNRWA, in a statement, strongly condemned the action, describing it as a “forcible and unauthorised entry” by the IDF soldiers. The UN agency said the move was deeply alarming and unacceptable as UN premises are maintained safe from violence or destruction.

“UN premises are inviolable, and their privileges and immunities must be respected,” the statement read. “There can be no ambiguity on this fundamental principle: no authority may simply enter, seize or take possession of a UN facility.”

It called on the international community to act decisively to ensure the protection and inviolability of UN premises and protect UNRWA’s ability to continue serving Palestinian refugees.

“At a time when opportunities for young Palestine Refugees are already severely constrained, depriving them of one of the few pathways available to them to build a better future is just simply not right!” UNRWA said.