U.S. SOLD AMBASSADOR’S HOME FOR $67M

The United States sold the ambassador’s residence in Israel for more than $67 million in July, according to an off icial Israeli record of the sale that shines new light on a transaction that has been shrouded in secrecy.

The State Department confirmed the sale in September but refused to identify the buyer or disclose the sale price of the sprawling beachfront compound in the upscale Tel Aviv suburb of Herzliya. It has also declined to say how much the U.S. government is now paying to lease the property.

The Israeli business newspaper Globes has identified the buyer as the U.S. casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, a strong supporter of both President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A representative of Adelson said the billionaire had no comment.

At more than $67 million, it appears to be the most expensive single residence ever sold in Israel.

The sale helped to cement Trump’s controversial decision to relocate the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to contested Jerusalem in 2018 and to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. By selling the residence, it would make it harder for future presidents to reverse the decision to move the embassy.

Israel seized east Jerusalem in the 1967 war and later annexed it in a move not recognized internationally. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state. Nearly all countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv because of the dispute over east Jerusalem.

Records posted by Israel’s tax authority on Monday show that the sale of the official residence was concluded on July 31, several weeks before the State Department acknowledged it.