Israeli forces take over two UNRWA centres north of Jerusalem
The vocational training centres at Qalandiya and Kufr Aqab serve some 16,000 refugees across the West Bank, and a child was shot and wounded beside one of them the same day.
Israeli forces stormed two UNRWA vocational training centres on Tuesday, at Qalandiya and Kufr Aqab north of occupied Jerusalem. The two facilities serve about 16,000 Palestinian refugees from across the occupied West Bank.
People were forced out of the Qalandiya centre before it was taken over, in an operation led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister.
The seizures follow the assault on the agency's headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem several months ago, when staff were driven out of the compound and parts of the building were pulled down.
A Palestinian child was shot and wounded in the shoulder the same day in Qalandia refugee camp, beside the training centre. The Jerusalem Governorate said soldiers deployed around the camp opened fire, and described a continuing escalation in the camp and the area around it.
Ministers on the far right of the Israeli government have been pressing to dismantle UNRWA and other bodies that provide services to Palestinians, with elections due in October.