JERUSALEM: Israel and the United States have signed an agreement granting Washington a 99-year lease on a plot of land in Jerusalem for a nominal fee of $1, paving the way for the construction of a permanent US Embassy complex in the city.
The agreement was signed on Wednesday by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee in the presence of Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, according to a statement issued by Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
Under the deal, the United States will receive a 99-year lease on the land for a symbolic payment of $1.
“The lease agreement for the land is for 99 years, and the United States will pay Israel the sum of $1,” Ambassador Huckabee said after the signing ceremony.
The agreement marks another step in the long-term consolidation of the US diplomatic presence in Jerusalem following the relocation of its embassy from Tel Aviv during President Donald Trump’s first administration.
In December 2017, President Trump formally recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reversing decades of US policy.
The American embassy began operating from a temporary site in Jerusalem in May 2018, a move that drew widespread international criticism and was rejected by many countries as inconsistent with the internationally recognised status of the city.
The latest agreement has also renewed attention to the ownership of the land selected for the permanent embassy complex.
In 2022, the Israeli legal rights organisation Adalah said the site had originally belonged to Palestinian families before 1948 and was later confiscated under Israel’s 1950 Absentees’ Property Law.
The group cited archival records indicating that the land had previously been leased by its Palestinian owners to the British Mandate authorities.
Adalah has argued that allocating the land for the embassy breaches international law, pointing to Article 46 of the Hague Regulations, which prohibits the confiscation of private property during occupation.
The legal status of Jerusalem remains one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The United Nations regards East Jerusalem as part of the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967 and maintains that any unilateral measures intended to alter the city’s character, demographic composition or legal status have no legal validity under international law.
Although the United States relocated its embassy to Jerusalem eight years ago, the overwhelming majority of countries continue to maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv, reflecting the prevailing international position that Jerusalem’s final status should be resolved through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
