Overview
- The Israeli cabinet approved the project on Sunday during a Jerusalem Day meeting, allocating a 36‑dunam site in Ma'alot Dafna near Ammunition Hill.
- The plan creates an IDF museum, a military recruitment office, and an office for the defense minister at the former UNRWA compound.
- Israeli authorities seized the East Jerusalem site last year and demolished structures there in January after ordering UNRWA to vacate its premises.
- Defense Minister Israel Katz framed the decision as asserting sovereignty and security, while UNRWA’s leadership has called the demolition a breach of international law.
- Hamas denounced the plan as illegitimate, and the U.N. considers East Jerusalem occupied territory, a dispute that could invite further diplomatic pushback.