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Ofra Settlement, Israel- Lawsuit Brings Murky West Bank Land Deals to Light |
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Ofra Settlement
The document, which surfaced in a case before Israel's Supreme Court, shows that the World Zionist Organization, acting as an agent of the Israeli government, took private Palestinian land in the West Bank and gave it to Jewish settlers, even though the state itself had declared the property off-limits to settlement.
The affair points to a chaotic mix of a government at odds with itself and involved in murky real estate deals fronted by one of the Zionist movement's most respected organizations.
It's not the first time such land deals have come under fire, but in the year since the case went to court, the political context has been overturned. President Barack Obama, in a departure from Bush administration policy, is pressing for a complete freeze in settlement development as a prelude to a new push for Mideast peace.
The contract authorized Netzach and Esther Brodt, a couple in their early 20s, to lease land in the settlement of Ofra where their home and eight others are in contention.
When Israeli human rights groups and Palestinians who claim to own the land went to the Supreme Court to get the houses torn down, they went with the knowledge that demolition orders had been issued against construction at the site.
The court gave the state two weeks to explain itself, during which time the settlers hastily completed construction of the homes. Then, in another reversal, the Defense Ministry froze the demolition plan, and left the case no closer to resolution.
The affair also threw a spotlight on the World Zionist Organization, an international body founded more than 100 years ago that promotes Jewish education and immigration to Israel.
After Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in the 1967 war, the government began settling Jews in the captured territories. To avoid complications stemming from international law, it turned to the WZO, setting up a special settlement division not technically part of the government but entirely funded by it.
The maneuver has served to cloud the issues and confuse the finger-pointing when uncomfortable questions arise.
Such questions had already arisen in 2005, when a government-commissioned report accused the settlement division of complicity in diverting funds and confiscating West Bank land to put up some of the more than 100 "outposts" — small wildcat settlements — that settlers have built, some on privately held Palestinian land.
They had no government sanction, yet a slew of former Cabinet ministers, settler leaders and lawmakers have confirmed that they went up with the full knowledge of the state, and their removal is viewed by the U.S. and others as a first step toward a broader rollback of settlement expansion in the West Bank.
The case before the Supreme Court involves not a flimsy "outpost," but Ofra, a full-blown settlement of 3,000 Jews, 15 miles north of Jerusalem.
The contract shows that the settlement division authorized the Brodts to lease land allocated to Ofra even though Israel's Justice Ministry had declared it to be private Palestinian property.
"Here you have proof" of a settlement deal violating Israel's own rulings, said Talia Sasson, the former chief state prosecutor who wrote the 2005 report.
Defying international objections, Israel has allowed nearly 300,000 Jews to settle in the West Bank plus some 180,000 in Jerusalem's Arab sector, which the Palestinians hope to make their future capital. In a speech last week, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, "We have no intention to build new settlements or set aside land for new settlements," but he gave no commitment to stop expanding existing settlements as the White House has demanded.
Land deals between settlers and the settlement division are usually shrouded in confidentiality and the contract with the Brodts is a hard-to-find example.
The settlers maintain that secrecy is essential to protect Palestinian sellers from retribution. The Ofra purchase is such a case, they told the court. Ofra's lawyer, Yaron Kosteliz, said proof that the land was bought from Palestinians has been given to the state confidentially to protect the sellers.
Yesh Din, one of the Israeli rights groups that went to court, says the land was stolen.
"It's like I was going to sell a house that didn't belong to me," said Dror Etkes, Yesh Din's settlement expert. "It's an international organization that is, simply put, stealing land."
The government referred questions about the contract to the World Zionist Organization, which referred the questions back to the government. The Justice Ministry refused to discuss the case because it is under litigation.
The Defense Ministry, named as a respondent in the court petition, did not respond to an e-mail and calls seeking comment.
Another respondent, the military's Civil Administration in the West Bank, said only that "there are differences of opinion pertaining to the ownership of the property."
"The issue is currently under discussion in the Supreme Court that will ultimately decide on this issue," it added in a written response to questions from the AP.
The Justice Ministry confirmed to the court that the land was owned by Palestinians, that a construction freeze had been ordered there a year earlier, and that a final demolition order for all nine houses had been issued.
"The construction was done in violation of stop-work and demolition orders," the state said in papers presented to the court.
As is often the case, however, the state was not speaking with one voice. Defense Minister Ehud Barak suspended the demolition order in December because of broader questions about the legal status of settlement activity in Ofra.
Kosteliz, Ofra's lawyer, said the settlement never received the demolition order. The Brodts said they were unaware of it when they signed the contract with the settlement division. They said the settlement was in charge of the construction.
The houses were near completion when the legal appeal was filed, and settlers hurried to finish construction during the two weeks the state was given to respond to the petition. They even won a rare and controversial dispensation from Ofra's rabbi, Avi Gisser, to allow construction to continue on the Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest, using non-Jews as workers.
Palestinians and Israeli right groups say the case is nothing unusual, and that settlements are often built on private Palestinian land.
Yesh Din says it has seen a classified database prepared for the Defense Ministry and that it shows that much of the construction at Ofra and in many other settlements is on land registered to Palestinian owners.
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Read Comments (18) — Post Yours »
1
Jun 21, 2009 at 10:48 AM melech Says:
Private Palestinian land in Israel, the land of G-d that he gave to the Jewish people? What's that?
2
Jun 21, 2009 at 10:39 AM Anonymous Says:
its our land-finito
3
Jun 21, 2009 at 11:17 AM listenup Says:
When the arabs take land and make it their own, they have an unwritten law that no non-muslim can ever claim it as theirs, making it sacred to Islam. And if such land ever reverts to non-muslims, the arabs put that on their list of land to reclaim via jihad. They do not recognize, that countries involved in war sometimes 'win' land and remake borders. That being, if you remember once upon a time, they ruled over much of the world, and they are determined to do it again - in our day. IN OUR CASE, we were attacked, fought back and as a result, we conquered Land that davka originally belonged to Jews as an inheritance from Hashem. So, nu, why do we have to return our land to non-Jews? I believe we have a moral and legal right and obligation to free the Land of amelekim-palestinians. I don't believe that we have to listen to the world, the UN, The Hague or any other antisemitic group that wants to lord over the Jews. Once and for all, we have to stand up, courteously, and explain that we are the rightful guardians of this Land given to Avraham Avinu, and that the inheritance goes from Yitzchak to Yaakov and his descendants (not to Yishmael), and that is what we intend to do -- guard it from Jew-haters!
4
Jun 21, 2009 at 11:47 AM Anonymous Says:
B"H someone has the right ideas.
5
Jun 21, 2009 at 11:33 AM some left-wing, irrational article Says:
"took private Palestinian land in the West Bank and gave it to Jewish settlers, even though the state itself had declared the property off-limits to settlement".
Check past legal documents regarding the British Mandate prior to 1948. The area of Yehuda & Shomron called the West Back (of Jordan) was never given as a sovereign entity to anyone, not Jordan and not Israel. There are specific lands that were purchased from Arabs with money and a deed transferred hands, where Jews then built homes. These Arabs now deny the land purchases due to death threats on their lives.
Personally this article which is full of falsehood and inaccuracies should be deleted from this site.
6
Jun 21, 2009 at 12:53 PM Milhouse Says:
“ Private Palestinian land in Israel, the land of G-d that he gave to the Jewish people? What's that? ”
The land as a whole belongs to the Jewish people. But if you buy a house there it belongs to you, and the "Jewish people" can't evict you from it! And if a goy buys a house it belongs to him. There is a land registry inherited from the Ottomans, listing who owned what. Since then a lot of land has changed hands, but if anyone can show that they have title to a specific plot of land, surely you will agree that it belongs to them and should not be stolen, no matter whether they're Jewish or not.
Of course just because these Jewish traitors dug up some Arab to shout that it's his land doesn't make it so. Jewish homes in Yehuda and Shomron are built on "public" (i.e. unowned) land, or on private land with the (usually Jewish) owners' permission. There is no such thing as a "settlement" on stolen land. But there is plenty of Jewish-owned land that has been effectively "stolen" by the government, which doesn't allow the owners or their authorised tenants to live there. Why doesn't the AP report on the shuk in Chevron, which is owned by the old Sefardi community, now under the leadership of R Mordechai Eliyahu. He has given explicit permission for Jews to live there, but the government forcibly expelled them and destroyed their homes. Beit Hashalom, which the community paid an exhorbitant amount for, is still not allowed to be inhabited. And Moshe Zar is not allowed to build a settlement on his own land, in memory of his murdered son HYD. But that is of no interest to AP or to these Jewish antisemites.
7
Jun 21, 2009 at 01:17 PM Charlie Hall Says:
“ The land as a whole belongs to the Jewish people. But if you buy a house there it belongs to you, and the "Jewish people" can't evict you from it! And if a goy buys a house it belongs to him. There is a land registry inherited from the Ottomans, listing who owned what. Since then a lot of land has changed hands, but if anyone can show that they have title to a specific plot of land, surely you will agree that it belongs to them and should not be stolen, no matter whether they're Jewish or not.
Of course just because these Jewish traitors dug up some Arab to shout that it's his land doesn't make it so. Jewish homes in Yehuda and Shomron are built on "public" (i.e. unowned) land, or on private land with the (usually Jewish) owners' permission. There is no such thing as a "settlement" on stolen land. But there is plenty of Jewish-owned land that has been effectively "stolen" by the government, which doesn't allow the owners or their authorised tenants to live there. Why doesn't the AP report on the shuk in Chevron, which is owned by the old Sefardi community, now under the leadership of R Mordechai Eliyahu. He has given explicit permission for Jews to live there, but the government forcibly expelled them and destroyed their homes. Beit Hashalom, which the community paid an exhorbitant amount for, is still not allowed to be inhabited. And Moshe Zar is not allowed to build a settlement on his own land, in memory of his murdered son HYD. But that is of no interest to AP or to these Jewish antisemites. ”
I've often made the case that the shuk in Chevron is indeed Jewish owned, as is much of East Jerusalem. But things like this report are incredibly destructive to the impression that Medinat Yisrael makes in the world. The fact is, there ARE Jewish settlements that have been built on land that has been known to have been owned by Arabs for generations. To do this without compensating the owners is absolutely wrong. Worse, that Medinat Yisarel has been unable or even unwilling to enforce a rule of law makes us look like rogues. And the fact that we don't complain about multinational corporations owning land in Eretz Yisarel, or that a Christian Church is one of the largest private landowners, but that we honor THEIR land title but not that of Arab farmers gives justification to the complaints of both secular opponents of Medinat Yisrael as well as the Palestinians themselves. And singling out only Palestinian Arabs as targets of land grabs gives justification for the Palestinian Authority law that prohibits Jews from buying land anywhere in PA territory. By not following a rule a law we aren't even acting in accords with the minimal standards required under the Noachide laws.
I can not overstate how damaging this is to Medinat Yisrael: People who would normally be sympathetic to it are outraged that things like this happen, and that outrage increases when they see that people who have had land that has been in their families for generations have nowhere to turn for justice. If things like this were to stop there would be far less sympathy in the western world to the Palestinian "cause".
8
Jun 21, 2009 at 01:34 PM a villainsburger Says:
I strongly believe in the rule of law!
A country can't function with rampant illegal construction!
Ever illegal construction must be demolished!
Enough with the double standards, no one shall be given special priveleges! You build a house illegaly in anywhere in the world, it would be demolished. Why should any group be given prefedential treatment?!
Our unequvocal demand is, the Goverment of Israel should demolish every home, outpost town built without proper goverment consent. And it shall do so in an unracist, indiscrimanate manner.
As soon as they shall be done demolishing the 2500 or more (anyone has the exact numbers?) haphazard unsafe structures built in Arab towns and villages - in Israel pre 1967 and post 1967, built without the proper relevant permits, they should definetly start eyeing the 9 structures mentioned in the article.
Enough with this racist selective enforcement of "the rule of law"!
9
Jun 21, 2009 at 02:12 PM Milhouse Says:
“ I've often made the case that the shuk in Chevron is indeed Jewish owned, as is much of East Jerusalem. But things like this report are incredibly destructive to the impression that Medinat Yisrael makes in the world. The fact is, there ARE Jewish settlements that have been built on land that has been known to have been owned by Arabs for generations. To do this without compensating the owners is absolutely wrong. Worse, that Medinat Yisarel has been unable or even unwilling to enforce a rule of law makes us look like rogues. And the fact that we don't complain about multinational corporations owning land in Eretz Yisarel, or that a Christian Church is one of the largest private landowners, but that we honor THEIR land title but not that of Arab farmers gives justification to the complaints of both secular opponents of Medinat Yisrael as well as the Palestinians themselves. And singling out only Palestinian Arabs as targets of land grabs gives justification for the Palestinian Authority law that prohibits Jews from buying land anywhere in PA territory. By not following a rule a law we aren't even acting in accords with the minimal standards required under the Noachide laws.
I can not overstate how damaging this is to Medinat Yisrael: People who would normally be sympathetic to it are outraged that things like this happen, and that outrage increases when they see that people who have had land that has been in their families for generations have nowhere to turn for justice. If things like this were to stop there would be far less sympathy in the western world to the Palestinian "cause".
”
Which "settlements" are you talking about, that are on Arab-owned land? And do you know for a fact that those Arabs didn't sell, lease, or otherwise give permission for the houses to be built? In other words, which Jews are you accusing of being thieves, and what are your grounds for that accusation?
10
Jun 21, 2009 at 01:47 PM a villainsburger Says:
“ I've often made the case that the shuk in Chevron is indeed Jewish owned, as is much of East Jerusalem. But things like this report are incredibly destructive to the impression that Medinat Yisrael makes in the world. The fact is, there ARE Jewish settlements that have been built on land that has been known to have been owned by Arabs for generations. To do this without compensating the owners is absolutely wrong. Worse, that Medinat Yisarel has been unable or even unwilling to enforce a rule of law makes us look like rogues. And the fact that we don't complain about multinational corporations owning land in Eretz Yisarel, or that a Christian Church is one of the largest private landowners, but that we honor THEIR land title but not that of Arab farmers gives justification to the complaints of both secular opponents of Medinat Yisrael as well as the Palestinians themselves. And singling out only Palestinian Arabs as targets of land grabs gives justification for the Palestinian Authority law that prohibits Jews from buying land anywhere in PA territory. By not following a rule a law we aren't even acting in accords with the minimal standards required under the Noachide laws.
I can not overstate how damaging this is to Medinat Yisrael: People who would normally be sympathetic to it are outraged that things like this happen, and that outrage increases when they see that people who have had land that has been in their families for generations have nowhere to turn for justice. If things like this were to stop there would be far less sympathy in the western world to the Palestinian "cause".
”
Mr. Charlie, what will help you realize the only action Mdinat Israel - or the Jewish People as a nation can do that will satisfy the world -
IS TO DISAPPEAR, PREFFERABLY WITH A BANG!!!
So quit fooling yourself that if only we should do this or that and we'll all live happily after ever.
The only thing we can do is to daven for the ge'ula shleimo, the goel emes, and do our minimal hishtadles by using our common sense hashem granted us, to succeed in the position hashem put us in. Not fighting for more than we need to exist b'derech hateva, and not giving up what we alredy have, without any tangible, realistic benefit.
11
Jun 21, 2009 at 10:03 PM Charlie Hall Says:
“ Mr. Charlie, what will help you realize the only action Mdinat Israel - or the Jewish People as a nation can do that will satisfy the world -
IS TO DISAPPEAR, PREFFERABLY WITH A BANG!!!
So quit fooling yourself that if only we should do this or that and we'll all live happily after ever.
The only thing we can do is to daven for the ge'ula shleimo, the goel emes, and do our minimal hishtadles by using our common sense hashem granted us, to succeed in the position hashem put us in. Not fighting for more than we need to exist b'derech hateva, and not giving up what we alredy have, without any tangible, realistic benefit. ”
I am under no illusions as to the nature of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terror organizations, nor of the nature of Fatah, much of the Saudi Royal Family, and the Mullahs who run Iran, nor of the nature of the European post-modernists and their allies.
But in this case, we have done wrong. And people who have no problem with the existence of a Jewish state have big problems with this. Furthermore, imagine if the shoe were on the other foot, and Jewish owned land were being expropriated without compensation. We would rightly be upset, as we were (or should have been) when Jews were forced to flee nine different Arab countries, leaving their property behind. This is no way to convince the Arab residents of Eretz Yisrael that it is in their interest to support a Zionist State.
And for anti-Zionist readers who feel they can simply disavow any action by the Medinah, remember that all Jews share a common fate. Every Jew from Hadash to Neturei Karta and every political affiliation in between, from the most outspoken atheist to the most devout chasid, is a target of the people who will use this to inflame anti-Semitism. We are all in this together.
12
Jun 21, 2009 at 10:28 PM Charlie Hall Says:
“ Which "settlements" are you talking about, that are on Arab-owned land? And do you know for a fact that those Arabs didn't sell, lease, or otherwise give permission for the houses to be built? In other words, which Jews are you accusing of being thieves, and what are your grounds for that accusation? ”
To anyone who thinks this doesn't matter: I typed the first line of the article into Google and it returned over five thousand web pages, including many newspapers and television stations all over the world. This is incredibly damaging to Israel.
13
Jun 21, 2009 at 10:13 PM Charlie Hall Says:
“ Which "settlements" are you talking about, that are on Arab-owned land? And do you know for a fact that those Arabs didn't sell, lease, or otherwise give permission for the houses to be built? In other words, which Jews are you accusing of being thieves, and what are your grounds for that accusation? ”
Don't look to me for the information -- look to the government of Medinat Yisrael itself:
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Law/Legal+Issues+and+Rulings/Summary+of+Opinion+Concerning+Unauthorized+Outposts+-+Talya+Sason+Adv.htm
It is also worth pointing out that much expropriation without compensation also took place within the "Green Line", and included Jerusalem neighborhoods like Old Katamon, and much of Tzfat, Haifa, Jaffa, Lod, and many other places. The Arabs use that to justify the expropriation without compensation of the shuk in Chevron, and parts of East Jerusalem.
14
Jun 22, 2009 at 12:24 AM Milhouse Says:
“ Don't look to me for the information -- look to the government of Medinat Yisrael itself:
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Law/Legal+Issues+and+Rulings/Summary+of+Opinion+Concerning+Unauthorized+Outposts+-+Talya+Sason+Adv.htm
It is also worth pointing out that much expropriation without compensation also took place within the "Green Line", and included Jerusalem neighborhoods like Old Katamon, and much of Tzfat, Haifa, Jaffa, Lod, and many other places. The Arabs use that to justify the expropriation without compensation of the shuk in Chevron, and parts of East Jerusalem. ”
That report is vague and conclusory. Its author is clearly hostile to Jews living in the "territories", and seems to care a great deal about building permits and zoning plans and other such nonsense, but gives no details at all about alleged theft of land from Arabs. Note very well that "private land" includes land owned by the Jewish builders. Moshe Zar's land is private, and thus according to this document Jews have no right to live there! I have yet to see any specific credible allegation of a "settlement" built on stolen land, and I am not willing to accept this document as proof of anything. To accuse good Jews of theft, you need to be very sure of yourself, and I don't see how you can be. But you don't seem to care about that.
15
Jun 22, 2009 at 12:36 PM mottel Says:
Yesh din is absolutely correct, there is a din alright; dinoh shel gehenom for yesh din members and all other horrible traitors that fight tooth and nail for every imagined slight to some arab crook, doing tremendous damage to yidden, while they don't give a toss for jewish rights
16
Jun 22, 2009 at 01:56 PM Anonymous Says:
“ "took private Palestinian land in the West Bank and gave it to Jewish settlers, even though the state itself had declared the property off-limits to settlement".
Check past legal documents regarding the British Mandate prior to 1948. The area of Yehuda & Shomron called the West Back (of Jordan) was never given as a sovereign entity to anyone, not Jordan and not Israel. There are specific lands that were purchased from Arabs with money and a deed transferred hands, where Jews then built homes. These Arabs now deny the land purchases due to death threats on their lives.
Personally this article which is full of falsehood and inaccuracies should be deleted from this site. ”
Why do you assume that arabs didn't purchase lands also? As did the jews? This issue has nothing to do with sovereignty. I find your faith in the WZO's integrity very naive at the best.
17
Jun 22, 2009 at 03:22 PM Anonymous Says:
Yishuv Ha'aretz is a great mitzvah! Chazak u'varuch! May H' bless these courageous families who are reclaiming the Land that H' has promised his Children, as stated, "Banim atem l'Hashem Elokeichem."
18
Jun 22, 2009 at 04:56 PM Milhouse Says:
“ Why do you assume that arabs didn't purchase lands also? As did the jews? This issue has nothing to do with sovereignty. I find your faith in the WZO's integrity very naive at the best. ”
You are essentially accusing Jews of theft, without any basis. How can you do that?