Exclusive: The police and IDF have confirmed that they are preparing to evacuate the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) facility in northern Jerusalem's Kafr Aqab neighborhood.
In response to Arutz Sheva-Israel National News's request for information, the police stated that during the weekend, several professional-level discussions were held, and police, IDF, and Jerusalem Municipality representatives toured the site.
According to the police response, the issue is currently at an advanced stage ahead of the complex's full eviction and the commencement of work on site by the Jerusalem Municipality. The police further stated that they will continue to work in full operational coordination with the security and enforcement bodies to complete the eviction and work.
About a year ago, the Knesset approved the UNRWA law by a vote of 92 members, stipulating that UNRWA would no longer be permitted to operate in Israel after it was revealed that many of its employees were terrorists who participated in the October 7th Massacre.
Several months later, Israeli security forces carried out operations at UNRWA's headquarters in the Ma'alot Dafna neighborhood of Jerusalem, demolished the buildings, and announced that an IDF recruitment office would be established on the site.
By contrast, the UNRWA compound in Kafr Aqab, which houses schools and medical clinics, has not yet been evacuated. About six months ago, security forces arrived to assess its evacuation but came under live fire, during which a terrorist was killed. Since then, the evacuation has not been carried out.
This morning, the CEO of the Israeli advocacy organization B'Tsalmo, Shai Glick, through the organization's legal adviser, attorney Michael Litvak, appealed to Defense Minister Israel Katz, calling on him to advance the evacuation of the compound. In his letter, Glick argued that every day the buildings remain in place constitutes “a reward for terrorism" and an ongoing violation of the UNRWA law.
The IDF said the buildings are located within the municipal jurisdiction of Jerusalem and that responsibility for their evacuation and demolition therefore rests with the Israel Police. The IDF added that it would provide security for the operation, subject to prior coordination and the allocation of the necessary forces, and noted that preparatory steps had recently been taken to enable the mission to be carried out quickly and efficiently.
The police said: “The Israel Police is working in close coordination with all relevant security and enforcement authorities to implement the provisions of the law. Over the past week, several professional discussions have been held, including a comprehensive site visit to the UNRWA compound in Kafr Aqab involving representatives of the police, the Jerusalem Municipality, and the IDF. At this stage, the matter is in an advanced phase toward completing the full evacuation of the compound and beginning work on the site, which will be carried out by the Jerusalem Municipality. The Israel Police will continue operating in full coordination with all relevant authorities until the evacuation and the work at the site are completed."
MK Yulia Malinovsky of Yisrael Beytenu, who initiated the UNRWA legislation, said: “I have had enough of promises, I want to see results. I passed two laws through the Knesset with broad cross-party support, and there is no explanation or excuse for why this has not happened yet. The state is obligated to remove UNRWA from Kafr Aqab and from Area C. That is the responsibility of the prime minister and the defense minister. If UNRWA has not been evacuated within two weeks, I will join B'Tsalmo's petition against the Government of Israel."