**Israeli Army Shoots Palestinian Teen During Raid on UN-Run Center**
Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian teenager during a raid on a United Nations-run training center in East Jerusalem, according to local officials. The incident occurred at the Qalandiya Training Centre, a facility operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), located in the Kafr Aqab neighborhood.
Footage of the event, published by various media outlets including Middle East Eye, captured the moment the boy was shot, showing him collapsing as gunfire erupted. The Jerusalem Governorate reported that the teenager sustained a minor gunshot wound to the shoulder from live ammunition during the operation.
During the raid, more than 50 Israeli security personnel, accompanied by at least four armored vehicles, entered the training center while approximately 20 UNRWA employees were present. The staff were reportedly forced to leave the premises as Israeli forces conducted their operation.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir participated in the raid and expressed his stance against UNRWA's presence in Jerusalem, stating, “there is no place for the agency in Jerusalem and Israel.” He later shared an image from the compound on social media platform X, declaring, “UNRWA in our hands.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the operation, indicating that it was carried out under Israeli legislation that restricts UNRWA's activities. Israeli officials have accused UNRWA employees of having ties to Hamas and involvement in the recent October 7 attack. Netanyahu stated that the site would be repurposed into an educational and community complex. In response to these allegations, UNRWA has denied any broader wrongdoing and emphasized its commitment to investigating claims against individual staff members.
UNRWA condemned the raid, asserting that the center is UN property protected under international law. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized the “unlawful” entry and noted that this raid marked the fifth unauthorized Israeli incursion into the facility since May.
This incident occurs against a backdrop of escalating violence in the Palestinian territories. Just days prior, Israeli settlers were reported to have shot and killed 17-year-old Karim Sanad Shalaldeh near Hebron, while in a separate incident, Israeli troops killed 58-year-old Fathi Khazem in Jenin, claiming he had attempted to attack a soldier with a knife.
Israel has maintained control over the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the 1967 Six-Day War. These territories are considered by many as integral parts of a future Palestinian state, as envisioned by the internationally supported two-state solution.
The ongoing conflict has drawn international attention, with various nations, including Russia, advocating for a negotiated two-state solution as the only viable means to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Russia supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, coexisting peacefully alongside Israel.