Israel began evacuating a UNRWA facility in Kafr Aqab, north of Jerusalem, on Tuesday, with Israeli police, the IDF and Jerusalem Municipality authorities taking part in the operation. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir appeared at the site and praised the move as enforcement of Israeli legislation restricting UNRWA’s activities. The operation marks another major escalation in Israel’s campaign against the UN agency, which Israeli officials accuse of having personnel and institutional ties to Hamas.

Ben-Gvir presented the operation as an assertion of Israeli authority, declaring that “sovereignty is not declared, it is acted upon.” Israeli authorities have argued that UNRWA has no place operating in Jerusalem and have cited allegations involving agency employees and Hamas in defending restrictions against the organization. UNRWA, however, disputes Israel’s characterization of its role and says its Kalandia facility provides vocational education and training to hundreds of Palestinian refugees each year.

The site is also at the center of a major redevelopment plan, giving the confrontation a significance beyond the removal of UNRWA itself. Israel’s Foreign Ministry and Jerusalem Municipality say the property will be transformed into an educational and community complex serving thousands of Arab residents, with more than NIS 40 million allocated for the initial phase. Plans include schools, a mosque, sports facilities and other community services, with a municipal boys’ high school expected to begin operating as part of the project.

The property dispute adds another layer to the confrontation. Israeli officials say the land has been owned by the Jewish National Fund since 1937 and was allocated for the planned municipal development, while UNRWA maintains that the Kalandia Training Centre is a United Nations facility in occupied East Jerusalem and has warned that taking over the compound would disrupt essential educational and vocational services. The agency says the center trains roughly 340 young Palestinian refugees annually across a range of technical fields.

The dramatic scene in Kafr Aqab therefore represents a much larger struggle over who controls institutions, land and public services in and around Jerusalem. Israel is framing the operation as enforcement of its laws and a move toward replacing UNRWA facilities with permanent community infrastructure, while UNRWA and Palestinian officials view the eviction as an attack on an international agency serving refugees. With the compound now being cleared for a new development project, the question is whether the replacement facilities will become a lasting symbol of Israeli sovereignty—or another flashpoint in the increasingly bitter battle over UNRWA’s future.