Blue Line task force
In 1999, the "Blue Line Task Force" was created to re-examine land not clearly designated as State land during the 1980s. The approval of this task force is a precondition for new settlement construction plans. [11]
Declarations of State Land in the West Bank are declarations by Israeli authorities that Palestinian land is "state land", that is, land that may be legally administered by an occupying power on a temporary basis under international law, on the theory that the occupier is holding the territory in trust until sovereignty can be restored. [1] It was and is the principal method used by the governments of Mandatory Palestine and Israel respectively, to acquire land from Palestinians and sell it to Israeli settlers. [2] According to B'Tselem, it was used to expropriate 16% of the West Bank. [3]
There is a complex mix of still-operative, Ottoman, British, Jordanian, Israeli, Palestinian and international law at work in the West Bank. [4] Land and villages of the West Bank did not have a cadastral survey during the Palestine Mandate. [5] By the Six Day War of 1967, only a third of the land had been registered. [6] [2]
The Custodian Staff Officer of the Civil Administration (also Supervisor of Governmental and Abandoned Property in "Judea and Samaria") is the representative of the Israel Land Authority to the West Bank, whose responsibilities include the declaration of public land (“state land”). [7] The declaration procedure is an internal process of the Civil Administration. Usually the Custodian signs a certificate specifying the location and area of the land along with a map. The certificate is sent to the mukhtars of affected villages. Objections must be submitted within 45 days and if not, the declaration is considered final and the Custodian may take possession of the land. [8]
A 1979 proceedings known as the "Elon Moreh" case (Dweikat et al. v. Government of Israel) the Israeli Supreme Court ended the use of military orders for the seizure of private Palestinian land for settlements and provided the impetus for Israel to establish a new legal basis for the requisition of land if it was to be used for settlement. [9] Following this case, during the period 1979 to 1992, 908,000 dunums were declared as state land based on a "stringent interpretation" of the 1858 Ottoman Land Code. [10]
In 1999, the "Blue Line Task Force" was created to re-examine land not clearly designated as State land during the 1980s. The approval of this task force is a precondition for new settlement construction plans. [11]
According to Peace Now, declarations had ceased after the roadmap was concluded in 2003 but that following Netanyahu's taking office in 2009, declarations totalled more than 6000 dunums as of the end of 2015. [12] In late August 2014, in what was widely reported as a land grab, [13] [14] [15] the authorities [16] announced the appropriation 988 acres (3,799 dunums), defining private land south of Bethlehem as state land, [17] [18] [19] [20] which Peace Now said was the largest confiscation of Palestinian land in three decades. [13] Then, on March 10, 2016, 2,342 dunams (580 acres) south of Jericho were declared as state land. [21]
Arab al-Samniyya, also known as Khirbat al-Suwwana, was a Palestinian village in the Western Galilee that was captured and depopulated by Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. It was located in the Acre District of the British Mandate of Palestine, 19.5 km northeast of the city of Acre. In 1945 the, village had a population of 200 Arab and a total land area of 1,872 dunums.
Bil'in is a Palestinian village located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) west of the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Bil'in had a population of 2,137 in 2017. In the 2000s, it was known for its regular protests against Israeli occupation.
Al-Ghazzawiyya, was a Palestinian village located 2 kilometers east of the city of Bet Shean (Bisan). In 1945, the population was 1,640, 1,020 Arab and 620 Jewish.
Wadi Ara was a Palestinian village located 38.5 km south of the city of Haifa. It is named after the nearby stream that is known in Arabic as Wadi 'Ara. The village was particularly small with a population of 230 and a land area of approximately 9,800 dunums.
Land and property laws in Israel are the property law component of Israeli law, providing the legal framework for the ownership and other in rem rights towards all forms of property in Israel, including real estate (land) and movable property. Besides tangible property, economic rights are also usually treated as property, in addition to being covered by the law of obligations.
Ya'bad is a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank, 20 kilometers west of Jenin, in the Jenin Governorate of Palestine. It is a major agricultural town, with most of its land covered with olive groves and grain fields. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 13,640 in 2007 and 16,012 in 2017. Its mayor is Samer Abu Baker who was elected in 2005. The Israeli settlement of Mevo Dotan is built on Ya'bad's land.
Qumya, was a Palestinian village of 510 inhabitants when it was depopulated prior to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
Bruqin is a Palestinian town 13 kilometers west of Salfit in the Salfit Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the northern West Bank, adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Brukhin, which was built over lands confiscated from the Palestinian town. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Bruqin had a population of 4,047 in 2017. The town used to be on a camel-trading route. There is evidence of Roman rule in the city due to the presence of three ancient pools and a tomb.
Beit Iksa is a Palestinian village in the Jerusalem Governorate, located northwest of Jerusalem in the West Bank.
'Anata is a Palestinian town in the Jerusalem Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the central West Bank, located four kilometers northeast of Jerusalem's Old City. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 'Anata had a population of 16,919 in 2017. Its total land area is 30,603 dunams, of which over half now lies within the Israeli Jerusalem municipality and 1,654 is Palestinian built-up area. Since 1967, 'Anata has been occupied by Israel. Together with Shu'afat refugee camp, the village is almost surrounded by the Israeli West Bank barrier, cutting it off from Jerusalem and surrounding villages except for a checkpoint in the west and a road in the north-east that gives access to the rest of the West Bank.
Haris is a Palestinian town in the Salfit Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the northern West Bank, 24 kilometers Southwest of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it had a population of 4,137 in 2017.
Urif is a Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the northern West Bank, located 13 kilometers south of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 3,624 inhabitants in 2017.
Al-Hamidiyya, was a Palestinian village in the District of Baysan. It was depopulated by the Jewish militias, precursors of the Israel Defense Forces, during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 12, 1948. It was located five kilometres north of Baysan. It was attacked as part of Operation Gideon. The population in 1922 was 193, expanding to 255 in 1948.
Al-Murassas, was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Baysan. It was depopulated by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 War on May 16, 1948. The village was attacked as part of Operation Gideon.
Kabara was a Palestinian Arab village in the Haifa Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on April 30, 1948. It was located 30 km southeast of Haifa.
Bir Salim was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine. It was depopulated during the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 9, 1948, by the Givati Brigade. It was located 4 km west of Ramla.
Al-Qubayba was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War on May 27, 1948, by the Givati Brigade as part of the Second stage of Operation Barak. It was located 10.5 km southeast of Ramla near the Rubin River which provided the village with water and irrigation for agriculture. Al-Qubayba was mostly destroyed with the exception of a few houses, and Kfar Gevirol was built in its place, now a suburb in the west of Rehovot.
Al-Butayha was a Palestinian Arab village in the Safad Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 4, 1948, by the Palmach's First Battalion during Operation Matateh. It was located 13 km southeast of Safad, quarter of a mile east of the Jordan River, a little northeast of the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee. Many of the inhabitants were forced into Syria.
Khirbat al-Zababida was a Palestinian Arab village in the Tulkarm Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on May 15, 1948. It was located 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of Tulkarm, south of Wadi al-Faliq. Khirbat al-Zababida was mostly destroyed except for four deserted houses.
Land expropriation in the West Bank refers to the practices employed by the State of Israel to take over Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. From 1969 to 2019 Israel had issued over 1,150 military seizure orders alone to that purpose.
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