OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) cut off electricity on Wednesday to the UNRWA-run “Qalandia Vocational Training Center,” which is located north of Jerusalem near Qalandia refugee camp, according to the 302 Commission for the Defense of Refugee Rights.
In a statement released yesterday, the 302 Commission explained that this measure against the training center “comes in a context similar to the recent demolition and takeover operation at UNRWA’s main headquarters in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.”
Established in 1953 on a plot of 86 dunums, the center has graduated over 20,000 Palestinian refugee students to date, according to the Commission.
The Commission accused the IOA of seeking to end UNRWA’s presence in east Jerusalem, where the agency plays a crucial political, legal, and humanitarian role in supporting Palestinian refugees.
The Commission stressed that the occupation’s claims of ownership over the land on which the center was built violate the international law.
It called on the international community and human rights organizations to take urgent action to pressure the Israeli regime to halt its measures against UNRWA.
