Israel’s cabinet has approved a plan to build a “defence compound” on the site of the recently demolished premises of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem.
Israel, in January, demolished structures inside the UN Palestinian refugee agency’s occupied East Jerusalem compound after seizing the site last year, in an act condemned by the agency, rights groups and the international community as a violation of international law.
In a joint statement, the defence ministry and Jerusalem municipality said on Sunday the new compound would include a military museum, a recruitment office, and a defence minister’s office.
Defence Minister Israel Katz called the decision one of “sovereignty, Zionism, and security”.
UNRWA had not used the building since the start of last year after Israel ordered it to vacate all its premises and cease its operations.
A UNRWA spokesperson declined to comment on the Israeli plan.
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The agency operates in East Jerusalem, which the UN and most countries consider territory occupied by Israel, as it was captured from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war.
UNRWA also operates in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and elsewhere in the Middle East, providing schooling, healthcare, social services and shelter to millions of Palestinians.
Israeli forces forcibly entered the UNRWA headquarters compound in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem on January 20 and demolished it using bulldozers and heavy machinery.
