Israel has approved plans to construct a military complex on the site of UNRWA's former headquarters in East Jerusalem, replacing the United Nations agency that has provided humanitarian relief to Palestinian refugees for decades with defense installations including an IDF museum, enlistment office, and ministerial offices.
The government announced Sunday that the new complex will occupy a roughly 36-dunam (9-acre) site near Ammunition Hill in East Jerusalem, marking a significant expansion of Israel's military presence in the disputed territory. According to a joint statement from the Defense Ministry and the Jerusalem municipality, the project is designed to strengthen the defense establishment's presence in Israel's capital.
A Contested Displacement
Defense Minister Israel Katz characterized the move as "a decision of sovereignty, Zionism and security," asserting there is "nothing more symbolic or just" than establishing defense institutions "on the ruins of the UNRWA compound." Katz repeated Israeli allegations that 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.
Israel began demolishing UNRWA's East Jerusalem headquarters in January, following years of legislative measures against the UN agency. 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. 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.
Allegations and Evidence
Israel has long accused UNRWA of colluding with Hamas and participating in terror activities, including the October 7, 2023, massacre, when Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostages. Israel ramped up its campaign against the agency after evidence showed that employees of the agency had participated in the October 7 onslaught. 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.
The Humanitarian Concern
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. 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.
Why This Matters:
The conversion of UNRWA's East Jerusalem headquarters into a military installation represents a significant shift in how humanitarian space is treated in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While Israeli officials cite security concerns and evidence of agency employees' involvement in the October 7 attack, the displacement of an organization that has provided essential services to Palestinian refugees raises questions about who will fill the resulting humanitarian gap. Supporters of UNRWA have emphasized that no other body is currently equipped to provide the relief services that keep vulnerable Palestinian populations from deeper poverty—conditions that security experts warn could fuel further instability. The project also deepens Israel's military footprint in East Jerusalem, a territory whose status remains contested under international law and central to Palestinian aspirations for statehood, potentially complicating future peace negotiations.