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UNRWA HQ turned military
Israel approved plans to convert the demolished former UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) headquarters in East Jerusalem into a military and defense compound, with a joint statement by Israel’s Defense Ministry and the Jerusalem municipality saying the ministry would allocate 36 dunams (nearly 8.9 acres) for an Israeli army museum and an advanced recruitment office.
“36 dunams (nearly 8.9 acres) of land”
UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the UN called on Israel to "honor and respect" the inviolability of all UN premises, adding that "Obviously, the UNRWA sites are UN premises, and they're meant to be inviolable,".
The Jerusalem Governorate said the conversion of the UNRWA compound into Israeli military facilities constitutes “a grave violation of the immunities and privileges of United Nations organizations,” and called on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to refer Israel to the International Court of Justice if it does not revoke laws and measures targeting UNRWA.
Hamas condemned the move as a violation of international law and said in a statement that Israel’s decision to convert the former UNRWA headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood into Israeli military facilities represents “null and void.”
Hamas, UN, and Israeli rebuttal
Hamas said Israel’s decision to convert the former UNRWA headquarters into Israeli military facilities represents “a dangerous escalation and a blatant violation of international law,” and called for international action including what it termed deterrent sanctions against the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters that the UN “raised concerns about exactly what's happened to the site, the way it was invaded, the way it was taken over,” and said those concerns “still apply.”
Israel Katz said the decision came in light of Jerusalem Day, and he posted on X: "We outlawed this terror-supporting UN organisation and took the land, and now on its ruins we are building and strengthening Jerusalem - the eternal capital of the Jewish people,".
The Jerusalem Governorate stressed that the project constitutes a “serious breach” of the Fourth Geneva Convention and a violation of the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, and said the governorate called on Guterres to take urgent action to bring Israel before the International Court of Justice if it does not retract the measures and laws targeting UNRWA.
What comes next for UNRWA
The dispute over UNRWA’s status is tied to Israel’s broader actions in East Jerusalem, where the UNRWA headquarters were demolished on January 20, with UNRWA spokesperson Jonathan Fowler saying the buildings were “stormed” shortly after 7 a.m.
“stormed' shortly after 7 a.m.”
Fowler said the UNRWA headquarters were an “inviolable” United Nations site, insisting, "This is an unprecedented attack against UNRWA and its premises; it constitutes a grave violation of international law and of the privileges and immunities of the United Nations,".
The plan approved Sunday would establish an office for Defense Minister Israel Katz, an Israeli army museum, and a military recruitment office on the site of the former UNRWA compound in Sheikh Jarrah, according to official statements described in the Anadolu Ajansı report.
UNRWA’s role is central to humanitarian support in the region, and Noovo Info said UNRWA provides aid and services to about 2.5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as 3 million other refugees in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, while warning that the demolitions could undermine the operations of the Qalandia vocational training center and the Shuafat health center.
