US signs agreement for permanent embassy site in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM – The United States and Israel have signed an agreement granting Washington a 99-year lease for a plot of land in West Jerusalem that will serve as the permanent site of the new US Embassy. Under the agreement, the United States will pay a symbolic lease amount of $1 for the property, according to US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. The land designated for the embassy was owned by Palestinians before 1948. In 2022, Israeli rights organisation Adalah said the site had been confiscated under Israel’s 1950 Absentees’ Property Law. The organisation argued that the allocation of the land for the embassy compound violates international law, including Article 46 of the Hague Regulations, which prohibits the confiscation of private property. The agreement was signed during a ceremony at Israel’s Foreign Ministry, where Huckabee said the new embassy complex would become the central hub for American diplomatic activities in Israel. The move follows President Donald Trump’s decision during his first term in December 2017 to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocate the US Embassy from Tel Aviv. The decision drew widespread international criticism, with many countries maintaining that Jerusalem’s final status should be determined through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Despite the US move, most foreign embassies in Israel remain in Tel Aviv. Huckabee said the new embassy project reflects Washington’s continued recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and reaffirms the United States’ long-term diplomatic commitment to the country. The permanent embassy compound will be built at the Allenby site in southern Jerusalem. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the agreement as another demonstration of the close relationship between Israel and the United States. He said the construction of the permanent embassy complex further strengthens the strategic partnership between th