Indonesia rejects Israel's plan to build a Ministry of Defense facility at the former URWA headquarters
JAKARTA - Indonesia firmly rejects Israel's plan to build its ministry facilities on the land of the UN agency headquarters in Jerusalem, warning of immunity under the UN mandate.
The Israeli government this week reportedly approved plans to build a Ministry of Defense complex on the former site of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) headquarters near Ammunition Hill in East Jerusalem.
"Indonesia firmly rejects the steps taken by Israel to strengthen its occupation in the Palestinian Territory," said Indonesian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson II Vahd Nabyl A. Mulachela at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Thursday (21/5).
"There is already a mandate from the UN that the locations that are UNRWA's territory have immunity. We must respect this immunity and privilege," he said.
In a joint statement, the Israeli Defense Ministry and the Jerusalem Municipality said the complex would be built on 36 dunams (nine hectares) of land, as part of efforts to strengthen the defense establishment's presence in Jerusalem.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the move as a "sovereignty, Zionism and security decision", quoted by The National.
Later, the complex will include a new Israeli military museum, recruitment offices, and the office of the defense minister.
Katz accused UNRWA of having ties to Hamas and said the new institutions would replace what he called "the terror and incitement machine against Israel".
Israel is known to have begun destroying the former UNRWA headquarters in January after years of action against the agency, which Israel accuses of having ties to Hamas and engaging in militant activities, including the October 7, 2023 attack.
The Ministry of Defense and the Jerusalem Municipality signed an agreement in December to establish a new defense headquarters in the city and move the military academy to Jerusalem.
"We reject the systematic efforts made by Israel to weaken UNRWA," Nabyl emphasized.
"We ask that these steps not be continued, because our principle remains the Two State Solution with the territorial boundaries before 1967 and East Jerusalem (as) the capital (of Palestine)," Nabyl said.
"Israel's steps are contrary to the spirit of the above, including with UN resolutions that require protection of this UN premises," he added.
UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini described the destruction of the headquarters as "a new level of open and deliberate defiance of international law" by Israel.
The demolition of the UNRWA compound is Israel's latest move against the organization since the start of the Gaza war.
Previously, schools, health centers, and UNRWA refugee camps have supported generations of Palestinian refugees since the 1948 war that accompanied the establishment of Israel.
At the end of 2024, Israel banned UNRWA from operating in areas under its control, a decision widely criticized in the international community, including by many of Israel's closest allies.
This institution is considered important to support the Palestinians and deal with the humanitarian disaster caused by the Gaza war.
Israel has long accused UNRWA of tolerating anti-Semitic content in school curricula, maintaining close ties with Hamas, and perpetuating the refugee status for Palestinians - accusations repeatedly denied by the agency.