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The United States and Israel earlier this month signed a deal allocating land for a permanent U.S. Embassy in West Jerusalem — years after a temporary embassy was established during Trump’s first term in office. Palestinian families have pleaded with the U.S. government to reconsider the embassy’s planned location, saying the site in the area known as the Allenby compound was unlawfully taken from them decades ago.

Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said professor emeritus of modern Arab studies at Columbia University, belongs to one of the families that has claims to the land. “So, here we have the U.S. government signing an agreement with the Israeli government to lease land the Israeli government has no right to, to which … we and many other families have title, in order to establish an illegal embassy in Jerusalem, which is in violation of repeated U.N. Security Council resolutions.”

Khalidi also comments on the ongoing fight to save the centuries-old Mamilla Cemetery in Jerusalem, “one of the most sacred and holy sites to Muslims.” Israel has gradually taken over the cemetery, replacing it with a museum, parks and parking lots.

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee speaking earlier this month about establishing the embassy in Jerusalem.

MIKE HUCKABEE: The United States not only recognizes Jerusalem as the eternal, indigenous and forever capital of the Jewish people, but also that the United States says that we’re going to do something about it, not just by recognizing it openly and verbally, but we’re going to plant our flag, our American flag, on the soil of Jerusalem for a permanent and a brand-new embassy compound that will serve as our mothership of diplomatic activities here in Israel.

MIKE HUCKABEE: The United States not only recognizes Jerusalem as the eternal, indigenous and forever capital of the Jewish people, but also that the United States says that we’re going to do something about it, not just by recognizing it openly and verbally, but we’re going to plant our flag, our American flag, on the soil of Jerusalem for a permanent and a brand-new embassy compound that will serve as our mothership of diplomatic activities here in Israel.

AMY GOODMAN: So, that’s the U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Can you talk about this agreement that was signed, Rashid, between the U.S. and Israel right before U.S. Independence Day — I think it was July 1st — the U.S. building its embassy in Jerusalem on land? Talk about who owns that land.

Huckabee Welcomed Man Imprisoned for 30 Years for Spying for Israel Into Embassy

RASHID KHALIDI: A large number of Palestinians own that land, as private property or as waqf, inalienable........

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