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SvennoJ on 09 April 2025
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Israel’s shutting down of UNRWA schools ‘extremely problematic'

The Israeli army, through the so-called “border police”, raided those UN facilities – schools for Palestinian refugees in occupied East Jerusalem, six of them, benefiting about 850 students – and they were told they must shut down and that the students will be taken in by Israel’s so-called Jerusalem Municipality schools.

This is extremely problematic because these schools do not instruct with the Palestinian curriculum. It is an Israeli-run curriculum that Palestinians say ignores and erases Palestinian identity.

Israel has legislated a ban on this UN-mandated agency, and it started with not dealing with UNRWA when it comes to providing humanitarian assistance in Gaza during this genocide.

And now, it is targeting occupied East Jerusalem and the organisation’s headquarters and operations there.

Not allowing UNRWA to operate, not allowing any Israeli official to be in contact with UNRWA, will also have a crippling effect on 19 other refugee camps across the occupied West Bank. This is, of course, something that will impact tens of thousands of Palestinians who rely on the agency, not just for education but also health services, for psychosocial support and humanitarian assistance, because more than 40,000 Palestinian refugees have been uprooted from their homes in Jenin and Tulkarem.

So, we are seeing an acceleration of Israel’s implementation of this ban.


Palestine condemns Israel’s closure of UNRWA schools

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has called for “intensified international efforts to preserve UNRWA’s mandate and ensure its continuity” following Israel’s closure of six schools run by the agency in occupied East Jerusalem.

“This decision deprives hundreds of students of their right to education, undermines their future, and attempts to impose the Israeli curriculum on them, harming the educational process,” the ministry said in a statement.

“This is a flagrant violation of the immunity and privileges enjoyed by the United Nations and its affiliated headquarters and institutions, and a serious assault on international law and international resolutions that clearly affirm that Jerusalem is an integral part of the Palestinian territory, occupied since 1967, and the capital of the State of Palestine.”


PA calls for more than ‘mere statements’ to stop Israeli closure of Palestinian schools

The cabinet of Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa has called on the UN to “assume its legal and moral responsibilities” and protect UN-run schools for Palestinian children ordered closed by Israeli authorities.

The call comes after UNRWA reported that Israeli police had forcibly entered schools in occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhoods of Shu’fat, Silwan, Sur Baher and Wadi al-Joz on Tuesday, and ordered six of those to shut down.

“Mere statements and condemnations from the international community are no longer sufficient,” the PM’s office said, adding, “The scale, severity, and gravity of the Israeli aggression demand immediate and concrete international action.”

“These actions represent a blatant attempt to dismantle Jerusalem’s educational and service infrastructure,” it said.

Israel’s order to close schools, which must be followed within 30 days, will affect about 800 children, UNRWA said.