Israel approves new defense complex on site of former UNRWA East Jerusalem HQ

IDF museum, enlistment office, office for defense minister set to be built; Katz says ‘nothing more symbolic or just’ than placing them over ruins of UN agency compound

The government on Sunday approved plans to establish a new defense complex that will include an IDF museum, enlistment office, and an office for the defense minister, at the site of UNRWA’s former headquarters near Ammunition Hill in East Jerusalem.

According to a joint statement from the Defense Ministry and the Jerusalem municipality, the new complex will be built on a roughly 36-dunam (9-acre) site and is intended to strengthen the defense establishment’s presence in Israel’s capital.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the move is “a decision of sovereignty, Zionism and security,” arguing there is “nothing more symbolic or just” than establishing defense institutions “on the ruins of the UNRWA compound. ”

He repeated Israeli allegations that the UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, was complicit in Hamas terror activity.

“In a place where an organization operated that became part of the machinery of terror and incitement against Israel, institutions will now be established that strengthen Jerusalem, the IDF, and the State of Israel,” Katz said, adding, “This is a clear message to all our enemies: we will continue to build, strengthen, and deepen our hold on Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel, from a position of strength.”

Israel began demolishing UNRWA’s East Jerusalem headquarters in January, following years of legislative measures against the UN agency, which Israel has long accused of colluding with Hamas and participating in terror activities, including the October 7, 2023, massacre.

The Defense Ministry signed an agreement with the Jerusalem municipality in December to establish new defense headquarters in the capital and relocate the military’s colleges to the city, among other moves.

UNRWA had not used the building since the start of last year after Israel ordered it to vacate all its premises and cease its operations.

A UNRWA spokesperson declined to comment on the Israeli plan.

Israel has long sought to shutter the agency altogether, saying it perpetuates the conflict by continuing to confer refugee status on Palestinian descendants rather than resettling them, unlike the practice with the rest of the world’s refugees.

It ramped up its campaign against the agency after evidence showed that employees of the agency had participated in the October 7 onslaught, when Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostages.

Israel has also alleged that more than 10 percent of UNRWA’s staff in Gaza have ties to terrorist factions, and that educational facilities under the organization’s auspices consistently incite hatred of Israel and glorify terror.

In February 2024, the IDF revealed the existence of a subterranean Hamas data center directly beneath UNRWA’s Gaza Strip headquarters. The IDF has also repeatedly targeted Hamas command centers and gunmen hiding out in UNRWA schools.

A number of freed hostages have also testified after returning to Israel that they were held in captivity in UNRWA schools and facilities.

However, some supporters have noted the key role the agency fills in providing relief to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and keeping them from deeper poverty that could fuel violence and terrorism, saying no other body or group is equipped to handle that responsibility.

Reuters contributed to this report