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Palestinians Urge Blinken Against Allowing US Embassy to Be Built on Confiscated Land in Jerusalem

A general view of the temporary United States embassy in Jerusalem taken on May 14, 2018. (AFP)
A general view of the temporary United States embassy in Jerusalem taken on May 14, 2018. (AFP)
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Palestinians Urge Blinken Against Allowing US Embassy to Be Built on Confiscated Land in Jerusalem

A general view of the temporary United States embassy in Jerusalem taken on May 14, 2018. (AFP)
A general view of the temporary United States embassy in Jerusalem taken on May 14, 2018. (AFP)

The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Adalah, filed on Monday a letter to object against a plan to build the new US embassy and diplomatic compound in Jerusalem. The letter charges that the missions will be built on land that was confiscated from Palestinians.

The letter was sent to the Jerusalem District Planning Committee at the Israeli Interior Ministry, US Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited Israel earlier this week.

The objection was filed by Adalah’s legal director on behalf of 12 of the heirs of the original Palestinian owners of the land the State Department is seeking to build on. The heirs include four US citizens, three Jordanians, and five East Jerusalem residents.

The US embassy compound is set to be built on a plot of land formerly known as the Allenby Barracks.

Adalah revealed that Israel had confiscated the land from the original owners using the 1950 Israeli Absentees’ Property Law. The land was then registered as state property, and later allocated to the US government.

In February 2021, the State Department and the Land Authority submitted plans for a US diplomatic compound. The move was made after former US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017 and relocated the US embassy there from Tel Aviv.

In November 2022, Adalah and the Center for Constitutional Rights sent a letter to Blinken and Nides, calling on the US to cancel the new embassy plans and the Israeli government to withdraw them.

Records found in the Israeli State Archives and released by Adalah in July 2022 clearly prove that the land was owned by Palestinian families and leased temporarily to British Mandate authorities before the establishment of Israel in 1948.

Adalah and the Center for Constitutional Rights emphasized that if the US proceeds with this plan, it will be a full-throated endorsement of Israel’s illegal confiscation of private Palestinian property. The State Department will become an active participant in violating the private property rights of its own citizens.

The descendants of the original owners include renowned Palestinian-American historian and professor, Rashid Khalidi.

He revealed that he was one of the Palestinian property owners who, in 1999, provided then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright with extensive documentation showing that at least 70 percent of this land is owned by Palestinian refugees, including dozens of American citizen heirs.

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Arab World

Syrian Government Intensifies Security Measures in Druze Areas Near Damascus

Druze men carry weapons at a checkpoint in Jaramana near Damascus (AFP). 
Druze men carry weapons at a checkpoint in Jaramana near Damascus (AFP). 
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Syrian Government Intensifies Security Measures in Druze Areas Near Damascus

Druze men carry weapons at a checkpoint in Jaramana near Damascus (AFP). 
Druze men carry weapons at a checkpoint in Jaramana near Damascus (AFP). 

The Syrian government is stepping up its security operations in Druze-majority towns in southern Syria, aiming to stabilize volatile areas in both rural Suwayda and the Damascus suburbs following recent sectarian unrest. Despite a newly brokered ceasefire, community leaders report that tensions remain in the districts of Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya.

Government forces continue to expand their presence in Al-Surah, a town in northern Suwayda, in an effort to push back armed groups operating outside state control. The campaign comes amid fears of renewed violence, particularly after clashes earlier this week that were sparked by the leak of an audio recording allegedly featuring a Druze cleric making offensive comments about Islam.

The recording ignited two days of violent confrontations, starting in Jaramana on Tuesday and spreading to Sahnaya and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, resulting in multiple casualties.

On Wednesday evening, a high-level meeting in Damascus brought together the governors of Suwayda, Rural Damascus, and Quneitra, alongside prominent Druze clerics and community leaders. According to Bassem Abu Fakhr, spokesperson for the “Men of Dignity” movement led by Sheikh Yahya Al-Hajjar, the meeting led to a ceasefire agreement and a plan to regulate arms in the region. Under the agreement, only personnel from the Ministries of Defense and Interior will be authorized to carry weapons.

Abu Fakhr told Asharq Al-Awsat that the deal also authorizes General Security forces to enter Ashrafiyat Sahnaya and assume control, with assurances that civilians would be protected from attacks by any group. A joint oversight committee was established to monitor compliance with the agreement’s terms.

In a statement published on its Telegram channel, the Suwayda Governorate confirmed the preliminary ceasefire and emphasized the importance of a cooperative approach to halt bloodshed and restore calm. Security officials also declared the conclusion of a military operation in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, with security chief Hossam Al-Tahan reporting that government forces had entered all neighborhoods and begun efforts to restore order.

Despite these moves, local residents report that tensions are far from resolved. In Jaramana, civil society representative Rabih Munzer described the atmosphere as “tense” and said that checkpoints at the city’s entrances are now manned by local General Security forces. He noted that the recent agreement has yet to be enacted, and a previous deal signed in March remains unimplemented.

Responding to calls from Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri for the deployment of international peacekeeping forces in Syria, Munzer stated: “We are responsible for our own words—not the words of others.” He also warned of continued provocations by armed groups surrounding the city, including sniper fire and sporadic gunshots targeting civilians.

Further south in Al-Surah, security deployments continue under the supervision of the Suwayda Governor and the commander of the Syrian Army’s 40th Division. State-run media released images of security forces in the area, including photos of the governor overseeing the operation to pave the way for displaced residents to return safely.

However, Abu Fakhr warned that several villages—Kanaker, Ara, Sass, Al-Surah, and Dama—remain under threat from what he described as jihadist groups.