US plans to build diplomatic compound on Palestinian land in East Jerusalem: Rights group

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - The US is planning to build a diplomatic complex on private property confiscated from Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem, a rights organization said Sunday.

In a statement, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel (Adalah) said they have found new evidence that the land on which the diplomatic compound is to be built under a joint US-Israeli plan is located on private property taken from Palestinians.

"The land on which the US Diplomatic Compound is to be built is registered in the name of the State of Israel, but it was confiscated illegally from Palestinian refugees and internally displaced Palestinians using the 1950 Israeli Absentees’ Property Law," it noted.

Recalling an upcoming visit by US President Joe Biden to Israel, Adalah said the descendants of the original owners of the property, including US citizens and Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, demand the "immediate cancellation of the plan."

"If built, the US embassy compound will be located on land that was seized from Palestinians in violation of international law," the statement added.

Biden is scheduled to arrive in Israel on July 13 as part of a tour that will also include the West Bank city of Ramallah and Saudi Arabia.