The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) affirmed its rejection of the Israeli occupation forces’ storming of six of its schools in occupied Jerusalem on Tuesday and the delivery of notices of their intent to close them.
Acting UNRWA Director of Public Information, Abeer Ismail, said in a statement that this action is completely unacceptable and violates international law. It also constitutes a violation of the right of Palestine refugee children to education, threatens to deprive hundreds of children of their basic right to education within their own city, and also violates the immunity of United Nations facilities.
She explained that the Agency is “closely monitoring this dangerous development and examining its legal and practical implications.”
She affirmed UNRWA’s unwavering commitment to continuing to provide educational services to Palestine refugees in occupied East Jerusalem, including during the current academic year.
She warned that forcing UNRWA to close schools would have “dire consequences,” noting that hundreds of children would be deprived of their basic right to education, exacerbating their suffering and casting a negative shadow over their futures and the psychological and social conditions of refugees in the city.
