UN warns Israel over plans for former UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem

The United Nations is threatening to take Israel to the International Court of Justice in The Hague after the Israeli government approved plans to build a Defense Ministry complex on the site of UNRWA’s former headquarters in east Jerusalem.

The compound, located in Sheikh Jarrah near Ammunition Hill, is slated to become home to an IDF museum, a military recruitment office and an office for the defense minister. According to a joint statement from the Defense Ministry and the Jerusalem municipality, the purpose is “to strengthen the defense establishment’s presence in Israel’s capital.”

The dispute marks the latest escalation in the growing confrontation between Israel and the United Nations over UNRWA, the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, which Israel has accused of supporting Hamas and enabling anti-Israel incitement.

“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,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said.

The UN Secretary-General’s office almost immediately condemned the decision, calling it “a breach of the inviolability of United Nations premises.”

“The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli authorities’ decision to establish military facilities at the UNRWA Sheikh Jarrah compound in East Jerusalem,” the statement said, adding:

“Such actions, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), are unlawful. The State of Israel is not entitled to exercise sovereign powers in any part of the occupied Palestinian territory and is under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence...as rapidly as possible.”

The UN legal office later sent Israel a letter accusing it of taking an “escalatory step” and repeating its claim that the compound “was and remains property of the United Nations.” The UN also warned that the dispute could ultimately be brought before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

According to Ynet, the UN argued in the letter that “the construction of permanent state facilities in east Jerusalem constitutes, in its view, a violation of international law and the laws of occupation.”

In addition, the UN demanded that Israel take “urgent steps” to ensure respect for UN immunity and refrain from further action against UN property.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, dismissed the warning as detached from reality.

“The UN has lost all touch with reality,” Danon said. “While UNRWA became a hotbed of terrorism, the UN is trying to intimidate Israel over the advancement of construction plans in Jerusalem, Israel’s capital. We will not be deterred by legal threats and will exercise our sovereignty in Jerusalem.”

The dispute comes after Israel sharply escalated its actions against UNRWA over the past two years. In late 2024, Israel banned UNRWA activities within Israeli territory over the UN organization’s support of Hamas.

In January 2026, Israeli authorities seized the former UNRWA compound on Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem and began demolishing structures on the site. In response, the UN agency condemned what it described as an “unprecedented attack” against the compound.

“This is an unprecedented attack not only against UNRWA and its premises. It constitutes a serious violation of international law and the privileges and immunities of the United Nations,” UNRWA said in the statement.