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.
Honored to stand with Foreign Minister @GidonSaar to sign the lease for America’s permanent new Embassy complex in the heart of Jerusalem. This is a concrete realization of @POTUS’s courageous decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s ancient, eternal, and undivided capital. pic.twitter.com/O3c8c2fqDC
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@USAmbIsrael) July 1, 2026
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 the two allies and builds on the embassy relocation announced in 2017.
Together with US Ambassador to Israel @GovMikeHuckabee, we just signed the agreement to allocate the site for the permanent building of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.
The decision of the US President @POTUS @realDonaldTrump to move the embassy to Jerusalem… pic.twitter.com/87fbpeUlBx
— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) July 1, 2026
Jerusalem remains one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel considers the city its undivided capital, while Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state. Most countries have kept their embassies in Tel Aviv in line with the international position that the city’s final status should be be resolved through a negotiated peace settlement.
The latest agreement comes after months of close military and diplomatic coordination between the United States and Israel during the conflict with Iran, underscoring the continued strategic ties between the two countries.
