The United Nations is carefully evaluating its response to Israel's announcement that it intends to construct a military complex on the former headquarters of the U.N. relief agency for Palestinians in east Jerusalem, a senior official confirmed on Tuesday.
Over the weekend, the Israeli government approved plans for a defense ministry complex at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) compound in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The proposed complex is set to include a museum and an enlistment office.
Natalie Boucly, Deputy Commissioner General of UNRWA, stated during a visit to Syria that the matter is currently under review at the level of the legal council, the highest legal authority of the United Nations in New York. She emphasized that these are U.N. premises and that this move represents, at a minimum, a breach of the 1946 UN Convention on privileges and immunities.
In January, Israeli authorities bulldozed part of the UNRWA compound, marking the culmination of a prolonged campaign against the agency that intensified following the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023. Israel has accused UNRWA of harboring staff members affiliated with Hamas and of some employees participating in the attacks. In response, UNRWA leaders have stated that they took immediate action against accused employees and have denied allegations of tolerating or collaborating with Hamas.
Israel's Defense Minister, Israel Katz, described the plan to build a defense complex on the former UNRWA headquarters as a decision of sovereignty, Zionism, and security. He asserted that institutions will be established on the site to strengthen Jerusalem, the Israeli army, and the State of Israel, replacing an organization he claimed had become part of a terror and incitement mechanism against Israel.
The announcement coincided with Jerusalem Day, which commemorates Israel's capture of east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites, during the 1967 Mideast war. Israel regards the entire city of Jerusalem as its capital, while Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of their future independent state.
The UNRWA compound was closed in May 2025 after far-right protesters, including at least one member of parliament, breached its gate in the presence of police. UNRWA's mandate involves providing aid and services to approximately 2.5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and east Jerusalem, as well as 3 million refugees in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Its operations were curtailed last year when Israel's Knesset passed legislation severing ties and banning the agency from functioning in areas defined as Israel, including east Jerusalem.
Boucly noted that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains absolutely dire. Although international UNRWA staff have been barred by Israel from entering Gaza, around 10,000 local staff continue to work in the enclave, including teachers, health workers, and sanitation personnel. She highlighted that despite a tenuous ceasefire, insufficient aid is entering Gaza, and reconstruction is not progressing quickly enough for people to see a real change on the ground.
Boucly spoke to the Associated Press from Syria's Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp, where the situation is somewhat more hopeful as former residents who fled during the country's 14-year civil war have been gradually returning. The camp, taken over by militant groups and bombarded by the military of former President Bashar Assad, was largely abandoned after 2018. Buildings that were not destroyed by bombs were demolished by the government or stripped by thieves.
Following Assad's ouster in 2024, former residents began to return and repair their damaged homes. As of April, approximately 60,000 people had returned to the camp, 80% of whom are Palestinian refugees, according to Boucly. However, assistance to those returning has been limited. UNRWA has received donor aid to rehabilitate schools and health centers but has been unable to provide more than minor assistance for home repairs.
Despite anxieties about shrinking funding, Boucly expressed a sense of hope for Palestine refugees in Syria.
