Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., April 08, 2008 Nisan 3, 5768 | | Israel Time: 10:36 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
  Back to Homepage
Rosner's Domain
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Advertising
Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File
Last update - 04:14 21/02/2008
If the land isn't private?
By Amira Hass
Tags: Settlements, Peace Now 

Not long ago the greengrocer in Ramallah recalled - between weighing locally grown zucchini and stripped hyssop leaves - that his family owns the land on which the gas station at the old entrance to the Jewish settlement of Beit El in the West Bank is located. He would not be surprised by the figure that the Peace Now movement has succeeded in officially extracting from the defense establishment, after more than a year of fighting for the freedom of information: About one-third of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank (44 out of 120) were built on privately owned Palestinian land that was seized, by means of confiscation orders, for "security needs."

From the data it emerges that at least 19 of the 44 settlements were built on private land, even after prime minister Menachem Begin decided in 1979 that the construction and expansion of settlements would take place only on state-owned land.

Peace Now has revealed here another act of hypocrisy, even though the Supreme Court is no longer impressed even by this: It did, after all, legitimize the construction of the settlement of Matityahu on land owned by inhabitants of Bil'in.
Advertisement
The known fact that settlements are built on private Palestinian lands combines all too well with the general civic and institutional Israeli perception to the effect that Palestinian lands that are not privately owned, or that lack proof of private ownership, belong to the Jewish people in Israel and the Diaspora.

Under the Israeli approach, which has expanded further since the Oslo Accords, any land that is not private was and remains suitable for Israeli development - for the benefit of the Jewish citizens of the state and for those who have the right to immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return. These are exactly the lands that constitute a considerable part of Area C (which is under Israeli military and administrative responsibility, and holds 60 percent of the area of the West Bank) and prohibited for any Palestinian development. It is on these lands, which are denominated "state lands," that two-thirds of the settlements are built. No less illegally.

The discussion of whether West Bank lands are privately owned or not reverberates far more loudly than the discussion of Israel's takeover of the Palestinian expanse by means of the closure policy. For example, since February 5, the army has once again severed the towns of the northern West Bank from the rest of the territory by means of roadblocks, and has forbidden males between the ages of 16 and 35 from leaving their towns. The media don't report on this.

The discussion of private land reverberates well in the Israeli (and American) media because of the exaggerated sanctification of private property. And now, Peace Now must correct its initial report of October 2006, in which it was stated that 86 percent of the area of Ma'aleh Adumim is private Palestinian land. It emerges that only .05 percent of Ma'aleh Adumim is private land.

Nonetheless, this non-ideological Jewish settlement is among the most damaging to the Palestinians, and it reinforces the regime of apartheid roads: It cuts the northern part of the West Bank off from the southern part, and prevents Palestinian territorial contiguity. The road that leads to Ma'aleh Adumim will soon be closed to Palestinians, who will be diverted to a separate, narrow and winding road. This Jewish settlement has caused the banishment of many Bedouin from their lands and their ways of life. Together with the adjacent Jewish settlements and the separation barrier, it has taken over lands that had served the Palestinian towns and villages in the area, their natural reserve for development and expansion.

And so what if this is land that was not registered as private? Because of this robbery, these villages and towns have become crowded, choking neighborhoods that are cut off from the larger expanse.

The extensive work that Peace Now has invested in exposing the private ownership of lands is a mirror image of the extensive and systematic effort of Civil Administration experts to prevent inhabitants of the villages from cultivating their lands beyond the separation barrier. They measure out for each individual his part in an inheritance and in accordance with this, they allot him the hours during which he may pass through the gate to harvest olives or to plow the land. They prevent shared cultivation of the land and calculate which of the siblings in a family is abroad so that, heaven forfend, his share of the land will not be cultivated by others.

All of this is a preliminary step to expropriate land that remains "without owners" and its transformation in the future into state land - that is, Jews' land.

The exaggerated concentration on private ownership feeds into the Israeli denial of the fact that the Palestinians' right is to all of the territory that has been occupied. Not as private individuals, but rather because they constitute an indigenous national group in this land.
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
In his father's memory
Gilad Sharon's son plans to write his father's memoirs as he lies in a coma.
Jammed FM
Police close an English radio station which encourages Israeli-Palestinian dialogue.
  1.   WHY SHOULD ISRAEL GIVE A DAMN? 09:52  |  Indrajaya 20/02/08
  2.   Unfortunatly Amira`s words have no standing in International law 10:14  |  David G 20/02/08
  3.   been doing it for years... 10:18  |  ravi 20/02/08
  4.   PALESTINIAN STATE?? CITE WHEN IN HISTORY?? 10:20  |  Ben Uziel 20/02/08
  5.   the nuttiest article so far in along line ! 10:21  |  v hardman 20/02/08
  6.   THE TORAH MAKES IT CLEAR WHOME THIS LAND BELONGS TOO!!!!!!! 10:27  |  Yoseph 20/02/08
  7.   just for the record spelling should read Hamas like jackass like 10:34  |  Don Q. 20/02/08
  8.   To Quote US Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman 10:36  |  Yishai Kohen 20/02/08
  9.   VIOLATION OF THE 4TH GENEVA CONVENTION 10:39  |  indrajaya 20/02/08
  10.   For Yoseph # 6 10:43  |  Clickfool 20/02/08
  11.   QUESTION OF TIME ONLY, AND LAND WILL GO BACK TO PALESTINIANS 10:48  |  TripleJump 20/02/08
  12.   #2 Utter nonsense, David G 10:48  |  Jjohnboy 20/02/08
  13.   #6, stolen land twice 10:49  |  Dav 20/02/08
  14.   IF THIS IS NOT APARTHEID, THEN WHAT IS IT? 10:50  |  ME Observer 20/02/08
  15.   #4 Your distinction makes no difference, Ben 10:53  |  Johnboy 20/02/08
  16.   #6 Yeah, right, Yoseph 10:57  |  Johnboy 20/02/08
  17.   And why are the poor Arabs 11:15  |  Ofer Maimon 20/02/08
  18.   Johnboy living on occupied land 11:19  |  Zelkha 20/02/08
  19.   Johnboy #16 11:29  |  Zelkha 20/02/08
  20.   Why should we stop the settlement of our own Land ? 11:34  |  Jean Van Daem 20/02/08
  21.   #clicky(from your mate down under in oz) 11:41  |  danny 20/02/08
  22.   # 9 indrajaya 11:46  |  danny 20/02/08
  23.   Maybe it`s "Trans-jordania" land ? 11:53  |  Rick and TC 20/02/08
  24.   #18 Zelkha doesn`t understand what the word "occupied" means 11:55  |  Johnboy 20/02/08
  25.   ass by any other name 12:01  |  Don Q. 20/02/08
  26.   WHY I BECAME ANTISEMITIC 12:02  |  ralph is back 20/02/08
  27.   Israel is a belligerent occupier of all lands seized in 1967 12:17  |  Mr. Knowitall 20/02/08
  28.   me observer 12:30  |  danny 20/02/08
  29.   To Yoseph#6 12:31  |  pal 20/02/08
  30.   Stealing and selling it to American Jews 12:49  |  El-Birawi 20/02/08
  31.   A question for Amira 12:51  |  Steven 20/02/08
  32.   To Ben Uziel # 4 - A Palestinian ... and `Palestinian Land..... 13:07  |  Dolly 20/02/08
  33.   Johnboy fooling no one but himself 13:16  |  Zelkha 20/02/08
  34.   Two small questions 13:17  |  Allan 20/02/08
  35.   From Time Immemorial 13:20  |  Albert Edelson 20/02/08
  36.   #26 WHY DON`T YOU LEAVE THEN,RALPH? 13:22  |  Hastaroth 20/02/08
  37.   el birawi 13:22  |  danny 20/02/08
  38.   #27 assad-u-allah 13:28  |  danny 20/02/08
  39.   28 mr kia has frostbite of the brain 13:29  |  v hardman 20/02/08
  40.   #19 You are a bundle of laughs, Zelkha 13:34  |  Johnboy 20/02/08
  41.   # 28 mr knownothing 13:34  |  danny 20/02/08
  42.   Democracy 13:55  |  Richard 20/02/08
  43.   #41 Johnnboy who gets the giggles when confronted with truth 13:56  |  Zelkha 20/02/08
  44.   #4. I is people like that should be thrown to the sea. 14:25  |  American 20/02/08
  45.   #12 Hague Court has no jurisdiction in Israel 14:31  |  Steven 20/02/08
  46.   #34 Oh, I see a fool alright, Zelkha 14:44  |  Johnboy 20/02/08
  47.   all of Palestine is stoloen land 14:47  |  Raed Kami 20/02/08
  48.   all of Palestine is stoloen land 14:47  |  Raed Kami 20/02/08
  49.   all of Palestine is stoloen land 14:47  |  Raed Kami 20/02/08
  50.   all of Palestine is stoloen land 14:47  |  Raed Kami 20/02/08
  51.   Amira is the voice of justice 14:53  |  Sam (UK) 20/02/08
  52.   Land of Israel stolen by Romans, Arabs 14:59  |  eddie 20/02/08
  53.   37. Hasteroth? it far fetched to see any of you as israelites 15:07  |  get real 20/02/08
  54.   johnboy "your dinky part of the world" 15:08  |  zevulun 20/02/08
  55.   johnboy loves to insult his interlocutor 15:10  |  zevulun 20/02/08
  56.   johnboy and "occupied land" 15:18  |  zevulun 20/02/08
  57.   Amira Hass is an Arab 15:28  |  Shmuel 20/02/08
  58.   WOW, if only people got this upset over important stuff 15:38  |  Doc Holliday 20/02/08
  59.   Armed robbery on the part of Israel. 15:38  |  Ivar 20/02/08
  60.   # 30pal 15:53  |  danny 20/02/08
  61.   raed kami 15:58  |  danny 20/02/08
  62.   CAPITAL CRIME, BILAAM`S DONKEY AND REALITY 16:43  |  B 20/02/08
  63.   From times immemorial: a fraud 16:45  |  Pierre 20/02/08
  64.   everybody starts history according to their viewpoint. 16:55  |  Zev 20/02/08
  65.   #48 Raed Kami, I couldn`t agree more.... 17:03  |  dutch 20/02/08
  66.   Assad the pig #27 17:07  |  Marc 20/02/08
  67.   # 12 Johnboy 17:10  |  17 20/02/08
  68.   50 raedkami. "All of Palestine is stolen land-including the zion" 17:11  |  common sense 20/02/08
  69.   What shameless people-- may God uproot them 17:24  |  Dutch 20/02/08
  70.   Danny boy, read what I said, steal and sell 17:29  |  El-Birawi 20/02/08
  71.   14 - Observe this, ME Observer 17:55  |  Steve 20/02/08
  72.   #26 - You stung, Wasp. Your time is now over. 17:59  |  Steve 20/02/08
  73.   #27 Better to eat pork... 18:01  |  Steve 20/02/08
  74.   #48 - Rantings from the UK. Pathetic. 18:05  |  Steve 20/02/08
  75.   Johnboy arguing issues way above his head 18:21  |  Zelkha 20/02/08
  76.   #59 Doc Holliday, Do you want to make a bet? 18:32  |  Dutch 20/02/08
  77.   # 68 El - Birawi 18:34  |  17 20/02/08
  78.   To Sam (UK) - on credit and debit 18:54  |  YH 20/02/08
  79.   Yoseph 18:56  |  Janice 20/02/08
  80.   Answer to Allan 19:07  |  Janice 20/02/08
  81.   not a single jew owns land in jordan!! 19:11  |  Susan 20/02/08
  82.   Amira Haas is so self hating - It`s pathetic!! 19:13  |  Lisa 20/02/08
  83.   The Jews have only one land!!! 19:16  |  Sandra 20/02/08
  84.   Palestinians should just look in the mirror!!! 19:19  |  Hassan 20/02/08
  85.   The crime and its punishment 19:19  |  Tosefta 20/02/08
  86.   This Article is pure Libel !!! 19:24  |  Peter 20/02/08
  87.   Arabs should say thank you that they weren`t kicked out!!! 19:30  |  Linda 20/02/08
  88.   IF ALL THE LAND IS STOLEN WHY HAVE ADS FROM JERUSALEM HOTELS 19:36  |  HAL TRIPP 20/02/08
  89.   71 elbirawi. I`ll make you and yours a deal - 19:47  |  jew from aden 1960 20/02/08
  90.   I have stolen Indian land 19:53  |  Bill 20/02/08
  91.   Until The Final Settlement No Boundary Line 19:56  |  Yosemite 20/02/08
  92.   #77: Dutch You make my point, it will be settled in the courts 20:12  |  Doc Holliday 20/02/08
  93.   Amira Chomsky 20:21  |  Michael 20/02/08
  94.   Since Day One 20:34  |  Jack Olson 20/02/08
  95.   Dutch:May God uproot them.You go first Doris 20:36  |  ... 20/02/08
  96.   # 85 Tosefta 20:37  |  17 20/02/08
  97.   Racist Hass spews one lie after another 20:47  |  Maya 20/02/08
  98.   to #1 - Israel shouldn`t give a damn because it is Israeli land 21:30  |  Ron 20/02/08
  99.   Doc Holliday don`t make me laugh out loud again 21:37  |  Dutch 20/02/08
  100.   How about ethopia? 22:10  |  sam 20/02/08
  101.   If the land isn`t private? 22:17  |  Julian 20/02/08
  102.   It`s all Israeli land under international law 22:22  |  Gee 20/02/08
  103.   #100; Dutch your a hoot, you really are 22:42  |  Doc Holliday 20/02/08
  104.   #100 Dutch, You Don`t Support Human Rights For Everyone? 22:48  |  Natallie Durson 20/02/08
  105.   Haas vs Hass 22:52  |  MB 20/02/08
  106.   #99 Ron 23:00  |  Boycott 20/02/08
  107.   A program for reading comprehension (#97 Dumbov-17) 23:01  |  Tosefta 20/02/08
  108.   #376 Zelkha talks more nonsense 23:04  |  Johnboy 20/02/08
  109.   #95 Since Day One, Actually Before Day One 23:05  |  Tom 20/02/08
  110.   #76 Zelkha continues to roll that crap uphill.... 23:10  |  Johnboy 20/02/08
  111.   Ownership of land 23:10  |  Legal 20/02/08
  112.   #68 17 sings the standard refrain 23:15  |  Johnboy 20/02/08
  113.   Churchill`s wisdom for Slowman 23:22  |  Amira Hass 20/02/08
  114.   Tosefta #86 23:30  |  TonyL 20/02/08
  115.   #98 MAYA-Another Israelite in the right place-NOT in Palestine! 23:35  |  PADDY 20/02/08
  116.   All this over land 23:39  |  Bill 20/02/08
  117.   To Jew from Eden: Wrong address 23:41  |  pal 20/02/08
  118.   Maya - a racist liar! 23:44  |  Philip 20/02/08
  119.   If I had a magic wand 23:45  |  TonyL 20/02/08
  120.   Ron - are you a fool or something? 23:46  |  Philip 20/02/08
  121.   Michael - you are a pathetic idiot 23:51  |  Philip 20/02/08
  122.   Bill 23:56  |  Philip 20/02/08
  123.   Hey Haaretz 23:56  |  Is greed you God? 20/02/08
  124.   #2 David G and International Law 00:02  |  Arnie 21/02/08
  125.   A program for reading comprehension (#97 Dumbov-17) 00:06  |  Tosefta 21/02/08
  126.   Dutch #100 00:06  |  Gee 21/02/08
  127.   Philip #113 00:08  |  Gee 21/02/08
  128.   Johnboy the obtuse 00:12  |  Zelkha 21/02/08
  129.   #112 Hey Phillip 00:20  |  Zelkha 21/02/08
  130.   #9 Indrajaya 00:24  |  Moshe 21/02/08
  131.   Land stolen 00:25  |  Dwido 21/02/08
  132.   #26 Ralph 00:39  |  Moshe 21/02/08
  133.   # 106 Johnboy 00:40  |  17 21/02/08
  134.   #105 legal you are 1000 % correct 00:46  |  v hardman 21/02/08
  135.   re: Mr. Knowitall 00:49  |  Efox 21/02/08
  136.   Jean Van Daem because Zionists are colonisers 00:50  |  Truth 21/02/08
  137.   Danny and dusty tomes 00:54  |  Truth 21/02/08
  138.   Raed Kami 01:01  |  io 21/02/08
  139.   Johnboy, Johnboy 01:09  |  17 21/02/08
  140.   #76, ZELKHA, and the world has been... 01:09  |  VIPER 21/02/08
  141.   You get what you can keep. That`s reality 01:34  |  Jason 21/02/08
  142.   Who is the Abominable Slowman? 02:09  |  Amira Hass 21/02/08
  143.   stolen land by haas 02:09  |  william mustafa 21/02/08
  144.   58:Shmuel # Jews are Arabs indeed 02:24  |  Sam (UK) 21/02/08
  145.   #70 Dutch 02:29  |  leo 21/02/08
  146.   #33, nice try 02:30  |  Palestinian Prince 21/02/08
  147.   This tiny land is ALL ours. Live with it! 02:33  |  Chaim 21/02/08
  148.   Hassan #85 the so called Lebanese 02:36  |  ELIAS KHOURY 21/02/08
  149.   A program for reading comprehension (#97 Dumbov-17) 02:44  |  Tosefta 21/02/08
  150.   Leo get real 02:50  |  Janice 21/02/08
  151.   #129 Palestinian Prince 03:19  |  Moshe 21/02/08
  152.   #138 This Tiny Land - God`s Promise 03:55  |  Dan C 21/02/08
  153.   Right on Amira! A lone voice of sanity in the wilderness 03:58  |  peacelover 21/02/08
  154.   #100; Dutch your a hoot, you really are. 04:09  |  Doc Holliday 21/02/08
  155.   The Ownership rights of Arabs to Israel 04:14  |  EGW 21/02/08
  156.   #137 LEO , Let me introduce your "GOD to you... 04:24  |  PADDY 21/02/08
  157.   #133; Pal Prince, sorry charlie your wrong. 04:31  |  Doc Holliday 21/02/08
  158.   #144 DAN C - A question or two about your god? 04:38  |  PADDY 21/02/08
  159.   Philip 115 04:50  |  Bill 21/02/08
  160.   Israeli values are screwed. what a bastardly state. 05:35  |  POP 21/02/08
  161.   #69, Dutch is right... 06:18  |  Silvienne 21/02/08
  162.   #142, Janice, well said! 06:20  |  Silvienne 21/02/08
  163.   #131 17 seems not to have heard of the Nuremberg Trials 06:21  |  Johnboy 21/02/08
  164.   #131 Awww, look , 17, I`ll take pity on you 06:48  |  Johnboy 21/02/08
  165.   ELIAS KHOURY 140# Well said 06:57  |  Sam (UK) 21/02/08
  166.   #125 May as well correct you on this too 17 07:36  |  Johnboy 21/02/08
  167.   Ah Bullshit! The Sun Should Never Set On Israel! 07:48  |  Yosemite 21/02/08
  168.   Land Grab 07:49  |  Dan 21/02/08
  169.   Gee - uneducated idiot 08:24  |  Philip 21/02/08
  170.   # 144 paddy 08:30  |  danny 21/02/08
  171.   ISRAEL WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE MOST MORAL ARMY IN THE WORLD!!! 08:42  |  ISRAELI SOLDIAR 21/02/08
  172.   # 145 pal prince 08:42  |  danny 21/02/08
  173.   #127 Best to restate the end positions then, Zelkha 08:54  |  Johnboy 21/02/08
  174.   103 Natallie, Israel has proven itself untrustworthy 09:14  |  Dutch 21/02/08
  175.   For Chaim # 146 09:22  |  Clickfool 21/02/08
  176.   Good enough justification for a Jewish landgrab # 151 09:29  |  Clickfool 21/02/08
  177.   stuff it, amira! 10:02  |  Mark Katzman 21/02/08
  178.   Actually, the BIBLE states that the land belongs to the "Children 10:13  |  Jack 21/02/08
  179.   "ONLY ON STATE-OWNED LAND"? 10:17  |  eric 21/02/08
  180.   All settlements are illegal 11:47  |  Jens 21/02/08
  181.   #171Israeli Soldier Re: Your most moral army 12:54  |  Dutch 21/02/08
  182.   #177 Amira, Re: Mark Katzman`s comment 13:09  |  Dutch 21/02/08
  183.   #169; Phillip ignorance is bliss 15:35  |  Doc Holliday 21/02/08
  184.   #176 clicky (from your mate down under in oz) 15:48  |  danny 21/02/08
  185.   180 jens 17:17  |  danny 21/02/08
  186.   to 140 20:28  |  T-Boon 21/02/08
  187.   to 47 and all talkback readers 20:34  |  Goggy Magoggy 21/02/08
  188.   #171, ISRAELI SOLDIER, so we`ve seen 00:25  |  VIPER 22/02/08
  189.   #184, DANNY, a hypocrite in his own right 00:33  |  VIPER 22/02/08
  190.   property law 00:43  |  jake 22/02/08
  191.   JohnBoy and Comparisons to Australia, Natives, ect.. 00:55  |  jake 22/02/08
  192.   Silvienne, Thanks for your comment 01:31  |  Dutch 22/02/08
  193.   #170 DANNY - The all-knowing! 04:58  |  PADDY 22/02/08
  194.   #192, Dutch, thanks for the link.... 12:08  |  Silvienne 22/02/08
  195.   Kohen: logic 101 07:34  |  David Cohen 08/04/08
  196.   Israeli Soldiar 07:45  |  David Cohen 08/04/08
 Today Online
Bradley Burston: I want the Palestinians to win
Responses: 23
Rosner: Evangelist to Yoffie: 'I'm not trying to undermine peace'
Responses: 17
Moshe Arens: Making Palestine Judenrein
Responses: 5
Barghouti peace overture to be read at Peace Now rally
Responses: 2


More Headlines
10:02 Sirens sound as IDF carries out largest civil defense drill ever
09:02 Vice PM: Ofra settlement homes built on private Palestinian land
03:28 Evangelist to Yoffie: 'I'm not trying to undermine peace'
10:14 Ex-chief justice: Friedmann reforms will make Israel third world country
06:39 Gaydamak, Pensioners poised to form new Knesset faction
09:26 Barghouti peace overture to be read at Peace Now rally
08:48 Gazans turn to black market to overcome gasoline shortage
02:36 Opposition to national service in Israel's Arab sector is bitter
03:44 Court extends remand of sixth suspect in case of abused Jerusalem toddlers
05:36 Report: Settlement planned for Gush Katif evacuees likely to damage nature preserve
Previous Editions
Special Offers
Advertisement
Learn Hebrew online
with Israel's best teachers Sign up for a trial lesson today
Behind the Z Word
Scholarly essays, commentary, podcasts, blogs and much more.
NEW! Dan Boutique Jerusalem Hotel
Hip Dan Hotel in Jerusalem. Attractive Introductory Rates
Pardes Institute Summer Sessions
Study Jewish texts and issues in Jerusalem, Co-ed, All Levels
FAREWELL ISRAEL New Film
The Coming War for Islamic Revival - View Movie Trailer
Free the Palestinians from:
Corrupt Kleptocracy, Tyrannical Theocracy, Abysmal Anarchy
Fattal Hotel Chain
Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel
Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved