Israel to Replace Former UNRWA Compound With IDF Museum In Jerusalem

Israel’s government approved on Sunday the establishment of a new defense and heritage complex in Jerusalem on the site of a former UNRWA compound in Ma’alot Dafna, near Ammunition Hill.

The project, approved during a special government meeting marking Yom Yerushalayim, will include a new IDF Museum, a modern recruitment office and a dedicated office for the defense minister and senior defense officials during visits to the capital.

Israel has moved in the past year and a half to end UNRWA’s activity in the country, after Israeli officials accused the agency of Hamas links and said some of its employees were involved in the October 7 massacre. The Knesset passed legislation in October 2024 barring UNRWA activity in Israel. The law took effect on January 30, 2025, leading to the closure of UNRWA offices in Jerusalem, including the compound in Ma’alot Dafna. Israeli authorities later began seizure and demolition work at parts of the site in January 2026.

The new complex is expected to cover about 36 dunams, or roughly 9 acres. The recruitment office planned for the site will replace the existing Jerusalem recruitment office in Romema, which officials said no longer meets the IDF’s needs. The project will also include exhibition space, educational activity areas and conference facilities connected to the new IDF Museum.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the decision was an act of “sovereignty and Zionism,” and linked the move directly to Israel’s campaign against UNRWA. “There is nothing more just than establishing national institutions where a body that became part of the mechanism of terrorism and incitement against the state once operated,” Katz said.

Construction and Housing Minister Chaim Katz said transferring the land from what he described as a hostile international body to institutions preserving Israel’s heritage and improving conditions for recruits was a necessary step.“This is a required and natural move,” Katz said, adding that the government would continue advancing development and planning projects “that strengthen Jerusalem’s status and the state institutions operating in it.”

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion welcomed the decision and called it “a clear statement about the inseparable bond between the IDF and the capital.”

Lion said the complex would become “a national center of education, heritage and values for future generations of fighters and for all Israeli citizens.” He also described the project as “a major engine of growth for the capital.”

The location adds another layer to the plan. The compound was once part of the historic police academy area and sits close to Ammunition Hill, the national memorial site connected to the 1967 battle for Jerusalem and the Paratroopers Heritage Center.

According to the plan, screening procedures for recruits will be held in the historic police academy compound, while enlistment itself will continue at Ammunition Hill. Israeli officials said the arrangement will reconnect two nearby sites with a shared history dating back to the British Mandate period.