Israeli officials say the agency is helping Hamas. The schools surrounded the armed troops.
The United Nations Agency for helping the Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Thursday announced that Israel had closed three schools in Eastern Jerusalem, which the agency operated. According to the AFP report, TASR reports this.
The AFP photographer said that at the entrance of at least one of these schools, the Closing Notice was written in Hebrew. UNRWA claims that Israel has detained at least one of its employees.
“From 8 May 2025, it will be forbidden to operate educational institutions, employ teachers, pedagogical staff or any other staff and it will be forbidden to accommodate students or enable students to enter this institution,” the closing command said.
The schools were surrounded by gunmen
UNRWA representative in Israel -occupied West Bank Jordan, Roland Friedrich, said that “heavily armed” troops on Thursday morning surrounded three UNRWA schools in the ShuaFat camp in East Jerusalem. At that time, 550 pupils aged six to 15 were present in schools. Friedrich described this event as a traumatic experience for young children, who immediately threaten to lose access to education. According to Friedrich, Israeli police were deployed in three schools in other parts of Eastern Jerusalem.
The Palestinian self -government condemned this step, which, in her opinion, is a “violation of children’s right to education”.
Israeli officials have long led to UNRWA disputes and suspects its employees to help the Palestinian militant Hamas movement. According to Israel, some agency staff joined the Hamas attack in Israel of October 7, 2023, after which the war broke out in the Gaza Strip. In October, Israeli MPs passed the UNRWA’s ban on the prohibition of the work of the work of the UNRWA in Israel with effect since January. Another law prohibits the Israeli authorities with any contact with UNRWA.
