The Trump Organization wants to open a luxury hotel in the heart of Israel

The Trumps reportedly planned to start with the Jerusalem project before possibly expanding to Tel Aviv

Donald Trump’s family business tried to open a luxury hotel in Jerusalem, Israel, according to a report.

The Trump Organization sought a deal last year to open a Trump-branded hotel on the former site of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The New York Times reported.

The former president’s company also looked into transforming a developing skyscraper — near the Israel Defense Forces headquarters — in Tel Aviv into another hotel. Once completed, that building will house the most hotel rooms in the country, the outlet noted.

Trump courted controversy in 2018 by moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, a move which was heavily criticized by Arab nations and praised by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Eric Trump, one of the former president’s two adult sons who runs the Trump Organization, reportedly led the negotiations long after Trump launched his re-election bid in November 2022.

Neither deal has been finalized and talks have been halted since war broke out in the region following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 — but the company still has interest in operating a hotel in Israel, the Times noted.

Donald Trump speaks during an ABC News presidential debate with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept.10, 2024, in Philadelphia. His family business is reportedly interested in opening hotels in Israel (AP)

“The deal absolutely would have gotten done if not for October 7,” Eric said in an interview. Building a hotel after that “would have seemed trivial and tone-deaf in light of the horrific things that the country and region were experiencing” but the company will “definitely” sign off on a deal “when the current situation that we’re all witnessing on TV every day is resolved.”

The two hotels that the Trump Organization is eyeing are owned by Nitsba Group, an Israeli real estate company.

Nitsba and the Trumps “agreed about the price and almost everything” on the Jerusalem property, said Haim Tsuff, chairman of the controlling shareholder of Nitsba Group.

The Trumps planned to start with the Jerusalem project before possibly expanding to Tel Aviv, a commercial real estate broker familiar with the plans told the Times, adding that he connected Nitsba and Lockwood Development Partners — a Delray Beach, Florida-based real estate investment and development company that had partnered with the Trump Organization for this project.

While the former president’s son chalked up the stalled discussions to the ongoing war, Lockwood said that Trump’s campaign called off negotiations — weeks before the war broke out.

A Lockwood representative told The Times in an email that the canceled negotiations were due to “an ethical issue that had to do with Donald J Trump as he was getting closer to being considered the Republican nominee.”

The representative added that “the Trump Organization didn’t want politics” to interfere with business. But the former president has embarked on numerous business ventures during his 2024 presidential campaign.

The Trump Organization has struck deals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Muscat, Oman, and Dubai, UAE. The announcement about Trump Tower Dubai concurred with the Republican National Convention, where Trump was named the party’s nominee.

Eric Trump walks on stage at a rally by Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, on the day Donald Trump returns in Butler after the July assassination attempt against him, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 5, 2024. (REUTERS)

Earlier this week, the Trump Organization announced a collaboration with Hung Yen Hospitality that will “focus on developing 5-star hotels, championship-style golf courses, and luxurious residential estates” in Vietnam.

These business ventures have raised concerns about potential conflict of interest should Donald Trump return to the White House. A 2023 analysis by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington found that the former president made at least $9.6 million from countries in the Middle East during his term.

Still, Trump has made his sentiments about the war clear. In July, he hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and referred to pro-Palestine protesters as “pro-Hamas thugs” in August during a speech meant to combat antisemitism.

The news of the interest in Israeli properties comes months after the Trump family business faced heavy scrutiny. In mid-February, the former president, his sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, and former Trump Organization executives were found liable for falsely inflating his net worth and assets to secure favorable financing terms over a decade in a civil fraud trial in New York City.

The Independent has reached out to Lockwood, the Trump Organization and the Trump campaign for comment.