Jerusalem, 17 May, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The Israeli government approved a plan to establish a new Israel Defense Forces museum, a central recruitment office, and a bureau for the Defense Minister in eastern Jerusalem, in a move officials say will strengthen the state’s presence in the capital, the Defense Ministry announced on Sunday.
The decision was endorsed during a special Jerusalem Day government meeting on Thursday, following a joint initiative by the Defense Ministry, the Jerusalem Municipality, and the Israel Land Authority. The project includes allocating a 36-dunam (3.6 hectares) complex near Ammunition Hill and the former United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) compound in Ma’alot Dafna for the new facilities.
The move, officials said, is expected to serve as a strategic development engine for Jerusalem, expanding the presence of national institutions and defense-related activity in the city.
The new IDF museum is planned to present the story of the IDF and the establishment of the State of Israel through exhibitions, educational programs, conferences, and public events aimed at youth, soldiers, and visitors.
Alongside the museum, the recruitment office will be relocated from its current central Jerusalem site and upgraded to provide more accessible and modern services for recruits from the capital and surrounding communities.
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion called the decision “historic news” for the city, saying the new complex near Ammunition Hill will serve as a national center for education, heritage, and values, and will further strengthen the connection between the IDF and Israel’s capital.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the decision represents “sovereignty, Zionism and security,” adding that there is “nothing more symbolic or just” than establishing defense institutions “on the ruins of the UNRWA compound,” which he accused of ties to Hamas’s October 7 attacks.
“In a place where an organization operated that became part of the machinery of terror and incitement against Israel, institutions will now be established that strengthen Jerusalem, the IDF, and the State of Israel. This is a clear message to all our enemies: we will continue to build, strengthen, and deepen our hold on Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel, from a position of strength,” Katz said.
Israel began demolishing the UNRWA’s eastern Jerusalem headquarters in January. The UN agency is banned from operating in Israel, and Israeli officials are prohibited from cooperating with the agency. In December, police raided the 11-acre compound and raised an Israeli flag over it. Deputy Mayor Arieh King confirmed to The Press Service of Israel at the time that the move was in response to several years of unpaid property taxes and to collect intelligence on who was operating the facility.
UNRWA has been under fire for years, with Israeli officials demanding the agency be stripped of its authority in Gaza and defunded amid revelations that members of the agency’s staff participated in Hamas’s October 7 attacks. Despite Israeli, U.S., and some European opposition, the U.N. General Assembly in December voted to extend UNRWA’s mandate for three more years.
Minister of Construction and Housing Haim Katz said the relocation of defense institutions to the former UNRWA site is a “necessary and meaningful move,” emphasizing the shift from what he described as a hostile organization’s use of the area to Israeli national development.