Israel approves site for construction of US embassy in Jerusalem

Israel officially allocates land in southern Jerusalem for the construction of a new U.S. embassy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Housing Minister Haim Katz said in a joint statement.

“At a time when Israel and the U.S. stand side by side in the campaign against the Iranian terrorist regime, the decision carries special significance and serves as further evidence of the strength of the relationship, the solid alliance, and the shared values and strategic partnership between the two nations,” the staement reads.

The embassy will be built on the abandoned Allenby military base on the outskirts of the Talpiot neighborhood.

The embassy will be situated between Hebron Road, Hanoch Albek Street and Daniel Yanovski Street - an area that is just inside the 1949 Green Line that separates Israel from the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

U.S. President Donald Trump decided in 2017 to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the U.S. embassy there.

The current U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem opened in temporary premises in 2018 on the site of the relatively small former U.S. Consulate General in the Arnona neighborhood, not far from the newly confirmed embassy site.