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United Nations Considers Response to Israeli Plan for Military Complex on Former UNRWA Site
The United Nations is reviewing Israel's approval of a defense ministry complex at the former UNRWA headquarters in east Jerusalem. UNRWA Deputy Commissioner General Natalie Boucly stated the matter is under consideration by the organization's legal council.
May 19, 1:29 PM·3m read1 source
Los Angeles TimesAudio version
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N. relief agency for Palestinians in east Jerusalem, an official said Tuesday. Israel over the weekend announced the government's approval for a defense ministry complex at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency compound in Sheikh Jarrah, including a museum and enlistment office.
"The matter is currently under consideration at the level of the legal council, the highest legal authority of the United Nations in New York," UNRWA Deputy Commissioner General Natalie Boucly told the Associated Press during a visit to Syria. N. premises and, at a minimum, this is a breach of the 1946 UN Convention on privileges and immunities," she said.
Israel bulldozed part of the UNRWA compound in January, capping off a decades-long campaign against the agency, which became acute following the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. N. agency of harboring staff members affiliated with Hamas, accusing some of taking part in the attacks.
UNRWA leaders have said they took swift action against the employees accused of taking part in the 2023 attacks, and have denied allegations that the agency tolerates or collaborates with Hamas. " "In a place where an organization that became part of the terror and incitement mechanism against Israel operated, institutions will be established that will strengthen Jerusalem, the (Israeli army), and the State of Israel," Katz said in a statement on Sunday.
The decision came on Jerusalem Day, which marks Israel's capture of east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel considers the entire city of Jerusalem its capital, while the Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of their future independent state.
The UNRWA compound was shut down in May 2025 after far-right protesters, including at least one member of parliament, overran its gate in view of the police. 5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, as well as 3 million refugees in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
