IDF and police evacuate Kafr Aqab UNRWA compound

Key Points:

• The IDF, Israel Police, and Jerusalem Municipality began evacuating the UNRWA compound in Kafr Aqab, northern Jerusalem, citing involvement of UNRWA employees in terrorism and connections to Hamas.
• National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir condemned UNRWA, stating the organization has no right to exist in Jerusalem or Israel and emphasized enforcing sovereignty and removing terrorist nests from the capital.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed the evacuation follows a law passed by the Knesset banning UNRWA operations in Israel due to employee complicity in terrorism, particularly the October 7 massacre.
• The Knesset approved the UNRWA law about a year ago, and Israeli forces previously demolished UNRWA's Ma'alot Dafna headquarters to establish an IDF recruitment office; however, the Kafr Aqab compound evacuation faced delays after security forces encountered live fire during an assessment six months ago.
• Israeli authorities continue operational coordination to complete the eviction and plan to repurpose the site, reinforcing the state's stance against organizations linked to terrorism within its territory.