Israel Forces Close UN Schools In Annexed East Jerusalem

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Thursday that Israel closed three of its schools in annexed east Jerusalem, months after an Israeli ban on its activities took effect.

An AFP photographer at the scene reported that a closure notice in Hebrew was left at the entrance of at least one of the schools, and UNRWA said at least one of its staff members was detained.

"From May 8, 2025, it will be prohibited to operate educational institutions, or employ teachers, teaching staff or any other staff, and it will be forbidden to accommodate students or allow the entry of students into this institution," the closure order read.

UNRWA's director in the West Bank, Roland Friedrich, told AFP that "heavily armed" forces surrounded three UNRWA schools in east Jerusalem's Shuafat camp at 9:00 am on Thursday.

Friedrich added that 550 pupils aged six to 15 were present when the closure was enforced, calling the event "a traumatising experience for young children who are at immediate risk of losing their access to education."

Friedrich said that police were being deployed at three separate schools in other parts of east Jerusalem, which has been annexed by Israel since 1967.

An AFP photographer reported that Israeli forces removed children from two schools, many of whom left in tears, and posted a closure notice stating that the schools were operating illegally without "authorisation".

Several young pupils, some visibly moved and others shocked, hugged in front of the school before leaving the premises.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the move in a statement to AFP, calling it a "violation of children's right to education".

In a statement, its ministry of education called the closures a "crime" and urged international institutions to "to assume their responsibilities and defend the right of refugee children to a free and safe education".

UNRWA has provided support for Palestinian refugees around the Middle East for more than 70 years, but has long clashed with Israeli officials, who have repeatedly accused it of undermining the country's security.

At the end of January, Israeli legislation came into force severing ties with the agency, which is banned from operating on Israeli soil.

Contact between it and Israeli officials is also forbidden.

Israel has accused UNRWA of providing cover for Hamas militants, claiming that some of the agency's employees took part in Hamas's October 7, 2023 assault on Israel which sparked the war in Gaza.

A series of investigations, including one led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some "neutrality-related issues" at UNRWA, but stressed Israel had not provided evidence for its headline allegation.

Palestinian human rights group Adalah reported that Israeli police were raiding six UNRWA-run schools in east Jerusalem.

The organisation filed a petition with Israel's Supreme Court in mid-January arguing the new legislation against UNRWA violated "fundamental human rights and Israel's obligations under international law".

The Supreme Court rejected its request for the legislation to be suspended.

In April, Adalah demanded a halt to the closure orders on UNRWA-run schools at the Supreme Court.

The state responded that the Jerusalem municipality was offering alternative schooling and the court rejected the NGO's motion.

Adalah called the proposed alternatives "wholly inadequate".

Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, though the United Nations considers its annexation of the city's eastern sector illegal.

The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state.