Israeli forces stormed the headquarters of the Union of Charitable Societies (UCS) in East Jerusalem on Thursday, detaining both its current and former leaders in a move that underscores the growing clampdown on Palestinian civic life in the city.
Witnesses said troops and intelligence officers surrounded the UCS offices in the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood, halting a community event organized under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority. Majdi Al-Zughayer, the union’s sitting president, and his predecessor, Youssef Qari, were both taken into custody.
The raid was ordered by Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. His office has spearheaded a campaign against Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem, shuttering community centers, cultural clubs, and even sports associations, often citing alleged ties to the Palestinian Authority.
Founded in 1958 during Jordanian rule, the UCS serves as an umbrella for more than 150 charitable organizations across Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho, Ramallah, and the Jordan Valley. For decades, it has provided social services to some of the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Thursday’s raid is the latest in a string of restrictions. In April, Israeli authorities banned the operations of the Al-Quds Fund and the General Federation of Palestinian Trade Unions. Then, in September, six schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees were shuttered in Jerusalem for the first time in the agency’s history, following a government ban imposed earlier in the year.
For Palestinians, the closures reflect what they see as a systematic attempt to strip East Jerusalem of its civic and cultural life. For Israeli authorities, they are framed as a matter of sovereignty and security.
