Israeli occupation forces closed several UNRWA-run schools in occupied Jerusalem on Thursday, targeting institutions in Shuafat refugee camp, Wadi al-Joz, Silwan, and Sur Baher. Backed by municipal officials and the Education Ministry, Israeli forces stormed the schools, ordered teachers and students to evacuate within an hour, and threatened violence for non-compliance.

Salim al-Anati, head of the Jerusalem Association, confirmed that Israeli forces issued closure orders and forcibly emptied the premises. The director of the UNRWA office in Shuafat camp, Fathi Saleh, was summoned for questioning and remains under Israeli interrogation.

The crackdown also extended to the UNRWA Jerusalem Girls’ Elementary School in Silwan, where soldiers posted a closure notice. This follows a military order issued last month mandating the school’s closure by May 8, 2025, under the pretext of lacking a legal license—noncompliance with the order has been deemed a criminal offence.

These closures represent a further escalation in Israel’s ongoing effort to dismantle UNRWA’s presence in East Jerusalem, targeting Palestinian access to education under international auspices and tightening its grip on the city’s occupied institutions.