Israel to build IDF museum at ex-UNRWA HQ

JERUSALEM

The Israeli government on May 17 approved plans to build an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) museum, a recruitment office and an office for the defense minister on the former site of the U.N. agency for Palestinians in Jerusalem.

In a joint statement, the Defense Ministry and the Jerusalem Municipality said the development will cover about 36 dunams (roughly 9 acres) and is designed to reinforce the presence of Israel’s defense institutions.

Defense Minister Israel Katz described the decision as “an act of sovereignty, Zionism and security,” saying there is “nothing more symbolic or just” than establishing defense institutions on the remains of the former UNRWA compound, which he accused of being linked to Hamas-related activities.

Israel began demolishing the former UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem in January, following a series of legislative steps targeting the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, which Israeli authorities have long accused of ties to Hamas and involvement in militant activity, including the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

Meanwhile, Israel said on May 16 it had killed Hamas armed wing chief Ezzedine Al-Haddad in an airstrike in Gaza the previous day, describing him as a key architect of the October 7 attacks.

Since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border assault, the Israeli military and intelligence services have waged a campaign targeting the group’s senior political leaders and militant commanders in Gaza and across the region.

The military said it had carried out an airstrike in Gaza targeting Haddad, before confirming his death.

Haddad was killed along with his wife and a daughter, according to another Hamas source.

AFP photographs showed mourners carrying Haddad’s body, wrapped in a Hamas flag, on a stretcher from the ruins of a building.