On Tuesday, the Israeli occupation police served all schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) with orders to close within 30 days, while arrangements are made to transfer students to schools run by the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem.

Israeli occupation forces stormed the Shuafat refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem, and carried out a large-scale raid that included UNRWA schools and several homes. According to local sources, a large force of Israeli occupation forces raided the schools and checked the IDs of staff.

Local sources indicated that the schools targeted by the decision are four UNRWA schools in Shuafat camp, including primary and basic schools for boys and girls.

UNRWA operates three schools in Shuafat camp—two for girls and one for boys—serving more than 110,000 refugees in occupied Jerusalem. Reports indicate that Israeli soldiers issued tickets to several vehicles during the raid.

The decision to close the Shuafat refugee camp schools follows a similar Israeli decision to close a private school in occupied Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Municipality's Arab Education Department announced last Thursday that it had decided to close Al-Furqan School, claiming it was "operating without a license and in violation of the law."

The Jerusalem Municipal Schools Parents Association held the fate of 1,200 students at Al-Furqan School responsible "for the closure decision, which has resulted in them being confined to their homes and streets, away from their classrooms."

These developments come in light of two laws passed by the Knesset in late October 2024, which aim to ban UNRWA activities within "Israel's borders." The first law stipulates the cessation of the agency's operations within Israel's sovereign territory and prohibits the provision of any services or activities from those areas.

It is worth noting that UNRWA administers the Shuafat and Qalandia refugee camps, in addition to a number of institutions, such as the Indian Corner Clinic and other schools in the Jerusalem and Sur Baher areas.