Israel to establish IDF museum at former UNRWA Jerusalem headquarters

The government is scheduled to approve the measure on May 14, in honor of Jerusalem Day, which is taking place on Thursday.

By JNS

The Israeli Cabinet is expected to approve next week the establishment of an Israel Defense Forces museum in the compound in Jerusalem that was previously occupied by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency.

The army’s recruitment center in the capital, currently situated in the Romema neighborhood, is expected to be relocated to the compound next to the museum, Israel Hayom reported on Wednesday.

A bureau for the defense minister is also expected to be established on the site, according to Ynet.

The government is scheduled to approve the measure on May 14-15, in honor of Jerusalem Day, which is taking place on Thursday and Friday.

On Oct. 28, 2024, the Knesset passed laws banning UNRWA from operating in Israel following the exposure of its complicity in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, despite pressure from the United States and other countries against the move.

The legislation came into effect on Jan. 30 of the following year, prompting the immediate closure of the agency’s main offices in northeastern Jerusalem’s Ma’alot Dafna and Kafr Aqab neighborhoods.

Israeli authorities began demolishing UNRWA’s headquarters in January.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said at the time that the Jewish state owns the former UNRWA compound in Jerusalem where the Israel Land Authority is now operating.

According to Israel Hayom, the current recruitment center in Romema will be returned to the Israel Land Authority after the center’s move to the compound in northeastern Jerusalem is completed.