UNRWA Commissioner-General on East Jerusalem: An assault on children. An assault on education

08 May 2025

From Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General as posted on his official X account (previously known as Twitter)

An assault on education.

A sad day in occupied East Jerusalem.

This morning, heavily armed Israeli Forces entered three UNRWA schools in Shu’fat Camp in occupied East Jerusalem, forcing 550+ girls and boys who were in classrooms out of their schools.

One UNRWA staff member was detained.

As a result, UNRWA was forced to evacuate all children across the six schools it runs in East Jerusalem.

Now, nearly 800 girls and boys – some as young as 6 years old- are left in shock and trauma.

Storming schools and forcing them shut is a blatant disregard of international law.

These schools are inviolable premises of the United Nations.

By enforcing closure orders issued last month, the Israeli authorities are denying Palestinian children their basic right to learn.

UNRWA schools must continue to be open to safeguard an entire generation of children.