Company chief Philippe Lazzarini stated that Israeli forces and personnel from the Jerusalem native authority “forcefully entered” the Kalandia Coaching Centre and ordered its instant evacuation.
“At the very least 350 college students and 30 workers had been current and impacted. Tear gasoline and sound bombs had been fired,” Mr. Lazzarini defined.
The event comes after a ban on UNRWA actions in Israel got here into impact, consistent with legal guidelines handed in October by the Israeli Knesset.
At the very least 350 college students and 30 workers had been current within the centre on the time.
Israeli police accompanied by municipal workers, additionally visited a number of different UNRWA faculties in East Jerusalem, demanding their closure.
The incidents have disrupted studying for about 250 college students attending three faculties, alongside the trainees now locked out of the coaching centre.
In an interview with UN Information’s Abdelmonem Makki on Wednesday, Roland Friedrich, Director of UNRWA affairs within the West Financial institution, spoke at size in regards to the incidents and defined that the company is dedicated to persevering with its companies.
These embody schooling for 50,000 kids, healthcare for 500,000 sufferers within the occupied West Financial institution, and emergency schooling programmes for 200,000 kids in Gaza.
This interview has been edited for readability and size.
UN Information: Israeli forces and personnel from the Jerusalem municipality entered a number of UNRWA’s instructional amenities in East Jerusalem on Tuesday. May you share with us what occurred precisely?
Roland Friedrich: Israeli safety forces, accompanied by municipality personnel, forcefully entered our schooling coaching middle in Kalandia and ordered it to be closed. That vocational coaching middle offers coaching to greater than 350 weak Palestinian youth from all around the West Financial institution, and it’s situated in what Israel considers the sovereign territory of the state of Israel. In line with worldwide legislation, it is occupied territory.
After about three hours of discussions, Israeli safety forces and the municipal representatives left, and we had been in a position to resume schooling, however this was the primary time that an academic set up in East Jerusalem was forcefully entered by Israeli safety forces.
And on the similar time, within the morning, workers of the Israeli authorities paid visits to a few faculties within the occupied East Jerusalem and threatened to shut them, asking for extra info, which was one other breach of privileges and immunities of UNRWA.
Roland Friedrich Director of UNRWA affairs, West Financial institution throughout an interview with UN Information.
UN Information: What was the acknowledged motive for these faculty closures by Israel?
Roland Friedrich: On the thirtieth of January the [Knesset legislation banning UNRWA] entered totally into impact. There are six faculties, three contained in the barrier, three in Shu’fats Camp refugee camp on the Palestinian aspect of the barrier.
There are two well being facilities, one within the outdated metropolis of Jerusalem and the opposite one in Shu’fats Camp refugee camp, the remainder of vocational coaching middle in Kalandia. And eventually, we’ve got our headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah. When the payments got here into impact, we continued to ship our companies to the sufferers and to the kids. We additionally do the rubbish assortment within the Shu’fats refugee camp, and these fundamental companies proceed in the interim.
Concerning our headquarters in East Jerusalem, we’re asking workers to not work from there. Over the previous 12 months, we have seen repeated aggressions, assaults, intimidation, vandalization, and after these payments had been formally adopted, we noticed one other uptick in incidents.
UN Information: What does this imply for Israel’s worldwide obligations?
Roland Friedrich: These legal guidelines are in contravention of Israel’s obligations as a Member State. The constitution has a really clear provision on what is predicted. Israel is social gathering to the final Conference on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which foresees, in fact, the duty to guard UN amenities and to make sure that privileges and immunities are revered.
That is extraordinarily problematic each when it comes to what worldwide legislation has to say but additionally regarding our work on the bottom. One other affect of these legal guidelines has been on the obstacle of coordinating immediately with Israeli obligation bearers and notably the Israeli army. Meaning in the intervening time, we will not communicate to them, we will not deconflict, we will not increase points regarding our installations and we will not handle entry points immediately anymore.
It is much more problematic as a result of now we’ve got an unprecedented scenario of forcible displacement within the northern West Financial institution, with greater than 40,000 folks displaced due to closely militarized Israeli safety forces operations because the twenty first of January. And that has by no means occurred within the historical past of the West Financial institution since Israel’s occupation that began in 1967.
UN Information: What is the subsequent step for the company in response to those measures, given the truth that the company has a transparent mandate from the UN Common Meeting?
Roland Friedrich: We’ve got a really clear mandate, and we’re dedicated to proceed delivering our companies as successfully as potential, so long as potential and wherever potential, as a result of we’ve got an obligation right here.
To offer you an instance, within the West Financial institution, we run 96 faculties with greater than 50,000 college students. Successfully this yr, the variety of college students registering to go to UNRWA faculties within the West Financial institution has elevated due to the socioeconomic deterioration of the scenario on the bottom.
We offer major well being care to half one million sufferers. We run 43 well being facilities and a hospital on the bottom. We offer money help and reduction companies to greater than 200,000 weak Palestinians, a few of that in shut coordination with different UN companies.
We’ve got a mandate to proceed doing this, and we’re dedicated to doing that so long as we are able to.
UN Information: UNRWA emphasizes the necessity to protect kids’s entry to schooling and defend UN amenities. Does the company have any different plans to allow these kids to proceed their schooling if this such incident occurs once more?
Roland Friedrich: I feel we’ve got to distinguish between East Jerusalem and the remainder of the West Financial institution as a result of the scenario there’s barely completely different in points regarding the faculties that we run and the locations the place we run these faculties.
There are very, little or no options, if any. And there is definitely no different to the Kalandia Coaching Centre the place we offer this vocational coaching to the 350 trainees who come from the West Financial institution. That is the coaching facility that UNRWA has been working because the Nineteen Fifties, and there’s no different.
After we have a look at the scenario within the West Financial institution due to the continuing Israeli operation, it has a really direct affect on kids’s means to entry schooling due to the displacement within the northern West Financial institution and due to the continuing operations.
There are 13 faculties in 4 refugee camps that haven’t operated since 21 January, which implies roughly 5,000 kids who do not need entry to schooling now. We attempt to present different technique of studying, however clearly that is an unprecedented scenario of displacement.
It isn’t straightforward to succeed in all the kids and their households. They’re, in fact, dislocated and traumatized, and we’re very involved that there is no such thing as a clear finish to this operation that might enable us to reopen the colleges and get the kids the place they belong. And this may be in a secure area, in our faculty.
UN Information: Past the instant affect on the kids and workers concerned in such incidents, what are the broader implications on the schooling and long-term prospects for kids within the West Financial institution, together with East Jerusalem.
Roland Friedrich: Within the OPT [Occupied Palestinian Territory] usually, UNRWA has lengthy been the second largest supplier of schooling, and we try this consistent with UN values, consistent with UNESCO‘s requirements. We’ve got a really strong human rights tolerance-oriented curriculum, in all probability distinctive within the area.
Within the Gaza Strip, for example, we used to offer schooling for greater than 300,000 children. Now, there are 600,000 kids which have been out of schooling for greater than a yr and a half, deeply traumatized, dwelling in distress.
And all people ought to have an curiosity to ensure that these kids have entry to schooling, high quality schooling as shortly as potential. We’re dedicated to doing this to the extent potential. We’ve got began the emergency schooling program in Gaza, and we’re rolling it out now, with greater than 200,000 children signed up for these emergency teaching programs in Gaza going ahead.
In the case of the West Financial institution, we’ve got 50,000 kids in our faculties, largely from poor backgrounds, dwelling in areas of battle, in areas the place there’s a whole lot of poverty, notably the refugee camps. And we’re persevering with to offer these companies, and we’ll try this so long as potential.
