The United Nations (UN) is considering how to respond to Israel's announcement that it will build a military complex in east Jerusalem on the site of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which is banned from operating, officials said today.
UNRWA Deputy Commissioner-General Natalie Buckley said that "the matter is currently being considered at the level of the Legal Council, the highest legal body of the United Nations in New York."
The Israeli government on Sunday approved the construction of a Defense Ministry complex on the site of the UNRWA office, which would include a military museum and a military recruitment office.
Buckley said the office in East Jerusalem is "a UN facility" and that Jerusalem's move is "at the very least a violation of the 1946 UN Convention on Privileges and Immunities."
Israel demolished part of the UNRWA compound in January this year, following multiple attacks since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
Jerusalem has accused the UN agency of providing sanctuary to members or associates of the militant Palestinian movement Hamas.
UNRWA leaders said they had taken action against employees accused of participating in attacks on Israel in 2023 and denied allegations that the agency tolerates or cooperates with Hamas.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz characterized UNRWA as "an organization that has become part of the mechanism of terror against Israel."
The UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem was closed in May 2025 after far-right protesters, including MPs, stormed its gate in full view of police.
The UN agency provides assistance to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as to refugees in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
The Knesset restricted its work last year with a law suspending its operation in the territory of Israel, which it includes East Jerusalem.
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