The United States and Israel have signed a 99-year agreement under which the US will lease a piece of land in Jerusalem for a symbolic payment of $1. The land will be used to build a permanent US Embassy in the city.
According to reports, the agreement allows the United States to use the land for nearly a century while paying only a nominal lease amount. The move is part of long-term plans to establish a permanent embassy building in Jerusalem.
The land included in the agreement remains the subject of legal and political debate. Some human rights groups say the property once belonged to Palestinian families before 1948 and argue that its ownership is still disputed.
These claims continue to be part of the wider discussions surrounding the status of land and property in Jerusalem.
The US Embassy was officially moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018 after a decision by then-US President Donald Trump. The move marked a major change in US policy and received different reactions from countries around the world.
Israel considers Jerusalem to be its capital and hosts its main government institutions there. However, the status of Jerusalem remains internationally disputed. Many countries do not officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and continue to keep their embassies in Tel Aviv instead.
The issue of Jerusalem remains one of the most sensitive topics in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and continues to be discussed in international diplomacy. Different governments and international organizations hold varying positions on the city’s final status.
The new lease agreement has once again drawn attention to the ongoing political, legal, and diplomatic debates surrounding Jerusalem and its future.
