TPC Staff
The Palestine Chronicle / August 29, 2026
UNRWA found damage and signs of looting after Israeli forces vacated its Qalandiya center, which housed assets worth over $5 million.
Damage and signs of looting
Damage and signs of looting have been discovered at UNRWA’s Qalandiya Training Center after Israeli occupation forces appeared to vacate the facility, a senior agency official said.
Roland Friedrich, director of UNRWA affairs in the West Bank, said Israeli security forces, municipal personnel and an elected official had “forcibly and unlawfully” entered the center on August 25 and expelled UNRWA staff.
Israeli authorities subsequently remained inside the facility and began renovation and clearance work.
Friedrich said Israeli security forces appeared to have left the center on August 28.
Their departure revealed “damage to UN assets and signs of looting,” he said.
The extent of the damage and the value of any missing equipment were not immediately specified.
UNRWA said the center housed assets worth more than $5 million, including equipment used for technical and vocational education.
The facility contains dozens of vocational workshops, classrooms, dormitories and administrative buildings, along with tools and specialized equipment required for practical training.
International partners and UNRWA had made significant investments in the center’s equipment, infrastructure, maintenance and repairs in recent years, Friedrich said. Some projects were still underway when Israeli authorities entered the compound.
“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,” Friedrich said.
EU, 14 countries condemn Israeli action
The latest findings follow widespread international condemnation of the Israeli takeover.
The European Union and 14 countries — Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom — jointly condemned what they called the “unlawful entry” into the Qalandiya Training Center and the broader seizure of UNRWA facilities in occupied East Jerusalem.
The countries are members of UNRWA’s Advisory Commission.
They stressed that UN premises are protected under international law, including under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.
The signatories demanded Israel’s “immediate and full compliance” with its obligations and called on it “to honour its obligations and to halt all disruptions to UNRWA’s activities and operations without delay.”
During the August 25 takeover, Israeli occupation forces expelled UNRWA personnel and raised an Israeli flag inside the compound.
Israeli forces also deployed around Qalandiya refugee camp and the neighbouring Kafr Aqab area, conducting raids, searches and interrogations.
Friedrich said Israel now had an obligation to reverse its actions “without delay” and ensure that similar incidents were not repeated.
UNRWA’s last major East Jerusalem facility
Established in 1952, the Qalandiya Training Center is UNRWA’s oldest technical and vocational training facility in the occupied West Bank.
Friedrich described it as the agency’s last major facility in occupied East Jerusalem following a series of Israeli measures targeting UNRWA’s presence in the city.
Israeli authorities have already closed six UNRWA schools and two health centers and seized the agency’s main headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, which Friedrich said was subsequently largely destroyed.
The Qalandiya center provides free technical and vocational education to hundreds of young Palestinian refugees each year.
Israeli pressure on UNRWA has intensified since the Knesset passed legislation in October 2024 restricting the agency’s operations. The measures, including a ban on UNRWA activities inside Israel, took effect in early 2025.
In October 2025, the International Court of Justice reaffirmed Israel’s obligation to respect the inviolability of UN premises, including UNRWA facilities, and to refrain from interfering with the agency’s property and assets.
The following month, the UN General Assembly renewed UNRWA’s mandate for another three years, extending it through June 2029.
(TPC, AA, UNRWA)
