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Israel evacuates UNRWA compound in Jerusalem

Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, said that the U.N. agency “will have no place in Israel’s capital” after the Kafr Aqab site was evacuated.

UNRWA Offices, Jerusalem
The former offices of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Jerusalem, Jan. 20, 2026. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.

Israeli security forces evacuated a United Nations Relief and Works Agency compound in Kfar Aqab, in Jerusalem, after Israeli legislation barred the agency from operating in the country.

Israel has pushed to replace the agency, whose employees have been tied directly to Palestinian terror, including taking part in the Oct. 7 attacks. The Jewish state told the United Nations that its agency must cease operations in Jerusalem and vacate the compound.

“An organization whose employees were involved in the Oct. 7 massacre will have no place in Israel’s capital,” stated Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations in New York.

Israel’s mission to the United Nations also told António Guterres, secretary-general of the global body, that UNRWA holds no property rights to the compound and was told that it had to vacate.

An educational facility, which is to include six schools with 140 classrooms, and a community center are planned for the site, which is also slated to include “additional facilities” for Kafr Aqab residents, the Israeli mission said.

Rebecca Szlechter is a reporter at JNS based in New York City.
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