US leases site for Israel embassy on stolen Palestinian land in al-Quds for $1
The United States has signed a 99-year agreement with Israel to build its permanent embassy in al-Quds on land confiscated from Palestinian owners, drawing renewed condemnation of Washington's recognition of the occupied holy city as the regime's so-called “capital.”
Israel and the United States signed an agreement under which Washington will lease a plot of land in al-Quds for 99 years at a symbolic cost of $1 to build the permanent US Embassy compound.
The deal was signed by Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee on Wednesday.
“The lease agreement for the land is for 99 years and the United States will pay Israel the sum of $1,” Huckabee said.
The site was identified by the Israeli rights group Adalah in 2022 as land confiscated from Palestinian families under the regime's 1950 Absentees' Property Law.
According to archival records cited by the group, the property belonged to Palestinian owners before 1948 and had been leased to the British Mandate authorities, arguing that the seizure of the land and its allocation for the US Embassy violate international law, including Article 46 of the Hague Regulations, which prohibits the confiscation of private property.
The agreement further entrenches Washington's controversial decision in December 2017 under US President Donald Trump to recognize al-Quds as Israel's so-called “capital” and relocate the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to al-Quds, where a temporary embassy opened in May 2018 despite widespread international condemnation.
The move was widely criticized at the time for breaking with the longstanding international consensus on the holy city’s status.
Israel lays claim to the entire al-Quds, but the United Nations regards East al-Quds as occupied Palestinian territory captured by Israel in 1967 and maintains that any measures aimed at altering the city's character or legal status have no legal validity under international law.
Reflecting that position, most countries continue to keep their embassies in Tel Aviv rather than al-Quds.
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