Power cut at UNRWA’s Kalandia Training Centre north of Jerusalem raises fears of seizure

The Israeli authorities cut off the electricity on Wednesday to the Kalandia Vocational Training Centre run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), located north of occupied Jerusalem near Kalandia refugee camp, according to the 302 Commission for the Defence of Refugee Rights. The commission said the move appears to pave the way for the seizure of the centre.

In a press statement, the commission said the action follows a similar pattern to the raid on and seizure of UNRWA’s main headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of Jerusalem. It explained that the Kalandia centre was established in 1953 on an area of 86 dunams and has graduated more than 20,000 Palestinian refugee students.

According to the statement, the institute is expected to host around 325 students in the 2025–2026 academic year, enrolled across 16 vocational and technical specialisations.

The commission added that targeting the centre is part of wider attempts to end UNRWA’s presence in East Jerusalem, given the agency’s political, legal and humanitarian importance to the refugee issue.

It stressed that Israeli claims of ownership of the land on which the centre stands contradict international law.

The commission called on the international community and human rights organisations to take urgent action to pressure Israel to halt measures against UNRWA institutions, and to ensure respect for the international agreements governing the work of the UN agency.