20 January 2026: Israeli Forces Target U.N. Refugee Facilities in East Jerusalem

Log by: Alex Carter

Israeli forces on Tuesday targeted at least two United Nations facilities in East Jerusalem, escalating their ongoing crackdown on the U.N. agency responsible for supporting Palestinian refugees. According to officials from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Israeli crews began bulldozing the organization’s offices in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, while tear gas was fired at a vocational training school in Qalandia. Roland Friedrich, UNRWA’s director in the West Bank, said demolition crews and police arrived early in the morning at the agency’s East Jerusalem headquarters. Although staff had not been operating from the building for nearly a year due to security concerns, Israeli forces reportedly confiscated equipment and expelled private guards assigned to protect the site. Friedrich described the actions as a serious violation of international law, which grants special protection to U.N. facilities. Later in the day, tear gas was deployed at a UNRWA vocational school that serves more than 300 young refugees learning technical skills such as welding and information technology. Local Palestinian authorities reported that several children were affected by the gas, and one teenager was injured by a rubber bullet.

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