Israeli Plan to Establish an Educational Complex in Kafr Aqab to Undermine UNRWA

SadaNews - The Governorate of Jerusalem has warned against the plan pushed by the Israeli occupation municipality to establish what it calls a "new educational complex" in the Kafr Aqab neighborhood, north of occupied Jerusalem, on land that has hosted for decades the vocational training college affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The governorate confirmed in a statement issued today, Thursday, that the project represents a new link in the chain of Israeli policies aimed at undermining the work of the UN agency in occupied Jerusalem, under the guise of service and educational projects that appear to have developmental goals, while they inherently conceal dangerous political and colonial dimensions.

It clarified that plan number (1421205), which spans an area of 82 dunams, is proposed under the title of addressing the shortage of classrooms and educational facilities in Kafr Aqab, whereas its actual results involve the removal of the vocational training college affiliated with UNRWA and terminating its work on the site.

The governorate warned that the danger of the plan lies not only in its planning nature but also in that it targets an existing UN institution that plays a vital educational and vocational role for Palestinian refugees, making the educational pretext a cover for a measure that practically undermines UNRWA's presence and replaces its institutions with others subject to the occupation authorities.

It emphasized that the practical experience over the past years proves that the occupation has consistently used the basic needs of Palestinian citizens, primarily education, as a tool to justify control over Palestinian lands and properties. Several projects have been promoted as solutions to educational crises in occupied Jerusalem, only to be used as pretexts for demolition, eviction, or takeover, while the implementation of those projects has remained stalled or postponed for many years.

In this context, the governorate pointed out that the educational complex project in Jabal Mukaber, which was approved in 2017, has not seen any actual progress until eight years after its approval, while the majority of it remains unexecuted to this day. It also recalled the case of the Salhiyeh family in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, which was forcibly evicted from their home and commercial nursery in 2022 under the pretext of establishing educational institutions, yet construction work has yet to begin. The same is true in Anata, where a school project designated for Palestinian students has been approved for years without any construction permits issued or any executive work begun on the ground.

The governorate confirmed that the occupation, which bears direct responsibility for the chronic education crisis in Palestinian neighborhoods due to decades of discrimination and deliberate neglect, is now attempting to exploit this very crisis to justify land confiscation and property takeover while undermining the institutions that provide vital services to Palestinians, instead of addressing the root causes of the existing deficit.