Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., June 19, 2008 Sivan 16, 5768 | | Israel Time: 02:02 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Peres Conference Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Civil Administration officials indicted in W. Bank land steal By Akiva Eldar Two senior officials in the Civil Administration allegedly illegally collaborated with Jewish land dealers to take over land in the West Bank, according to an indictment issued yesterday in the Jerusalem District Court. Lieutenant Colonel Yair Blumenthal and Major Ehud Brosh have been charged with taking bribes and favors from the dealers, brothers Yosef and Yaakov Amram. Blumenthal, who headed of the Civil Administration's infrastructure department, is charged with helping the brothers further fraudulent business deals by providing them with internal documents and equipment belonging to the Civil Administration in exchange for over $40,000. Advertisement Brosh, who was head of the lands department in the unit providing legal counsel to the Israel Defense Forces' Judea and Samaria division, stands accused of taking bribes in the form of vacations abroad and in Israel, in return for furthering the Amram brothers' business ventures. The land is said to have been used to expand settlements in the Jericho and Hebron areas. Blumenthal allegedly furnished the brothers classified aerial maps and land registration documents, which assisted them in locating lands whose owners were out of the country, making it easier for them to forge documents. Blumenthal is also said to have drafted a letter to himself in the brothers' name, allowing them to receive increased compensation after land they supposedly owned - which he described as grapevine plantations - was expropriated. Blumenthal also provided the Amram brothers with names, addresses, ages and dates of entry and exit from the country of Arab West Bank land owners, and verified whether they were alive and other details said to have assisted the dealers in forging powers of attorney and selling lands in the name of absentee or deceased Palestinian land owners. From 2000 to 2003, the brothers obtained documents proving that their company owned lands in Hebron, El Jib north of Jerusalem, Jericho and Tubas in the northern West Bank. They then presented these documents to the Jewish National Fund subsidiary Himnuta, with an offer to sell land that in some cases Himnuta bought. The forgeries were sometimes carried out using Arab front men who presented themselves as the land owners. The affair came to light after the heirs of Said Ali Salah Aldin, a minister in the Jordanian government in the 1960s who died in Jerusalem in 1985, discovered that 208 dunams (some 50 acres) of land near Jericho registered in their father's name had been sold to Himnuta. The heirs went to the police, who discovered that the Amrams had located a Jordanian resident whose name and other details were identical to Aldin's, and had him sign a document at the Israeli Embassy in Amman as the owner of the land, granting power of attorney to the Amram's front man, Jawwad Kawasmeh. The brothers also instructed Jerusalem attorney Eitan Tzachi to sign an authorized copy of the power of attorney, and after receiving approval for the sale, sold the land to Himnuta for over NIS 2 million. Tzachi, who was allegedly involved in several of the Amrams' other deals, was being blackmailed by Yosef Amram who enticed him to a hotel and filmed him with a prostitute. In another case Amram flew with Tzachi to Cyprus in July 2001 to complete a real estate deal in which a Jordanian citizen, Sherif Zayad, sold him 530 dunams (about 132 acres) near Jericho. Amram demanded that Zayad signs a declaration that he had received the full sale price ($1,270,000) and was lending Amram $1,000,000. When Zayad balked, Amram threatened he would have Hamas men deal with Zayad. Tzachi, who witnessed the exchange, told Amram he would not have Zayad sign under such conditions. Amram then escorted Tzachi to a hotel balcony, where he beat him and threatened to make the tape with the prostitute public, after which Zayad signed the papers and Tzachi signed as notary. The Amram brothers have also been charged with tax evasion of more than NIS 10 million. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Fragile cease-fire Olmert: Gaza cease-fire is fragile, may be short lived. Unbalanced stance Italy FM: EU stance on Israel in past swayed by intolerance.

Read & React Olmert: Gaza cease-fire is fragile, may not last Responses: 318 ANALYSIS / Cease-fire deal means Hamas is calling the shots Responses: 88 Moshe Arens: Israel has nothing to fear from next U.S. administration Responses: 50 Olmert to French daily: Israel, Syria not far from direct talks Responses: 50 Editorial: Law to ban Arab MKs from visiting enemy states is an insulting PR ploy Responses: 66 More Headlines 22:05 Noam Shalit threatens to appeal Gaza truce in court 21:56 Olmert: Gaza cease-fire is fragile, may be short lived 23:29 Lebanon PM: There's no place for bilateral talks with Israel 22:48 Olmert to French daily: Israel, Syria not far from direct talks 23:49 Italy FM: EU stance on Israel in past swayed by intolerance of Jews 02:01 Eager yet untrusting, both sides of Gaza border await calm 21:38 World welcomes Gaza truce, urges sides to fulfill obligations 18:07 Families of missing soldiers briefed ahead of Hezbollah deal 21:13 Hezbollah supporters hurl stones at U.S. envoy's car in Lebanon 14:45 Shas MK: 300,000 Jews still in Ethiopia eligible for immigration 23:35 9 people killed in car accidents across Israel Wednesday 21:14 Latin America Jewish Congress honors Chilean President Previous Editions Select Day 18 jun 17 jun 16 jun 15 jun 13 jun 12 jun 11 jun 10 jun 09 jun 08 jun 06 jun 05 jun

Special Offers Advertisement Holyland Park Jerusalem Apartment Tower World Class Luxury In the heart of Tel-Aviv The Meier on Rothschild tower Jerusalem of Gold Luxury apartments in Jerusalem's finest location Your vacation starts here Israel Travel Center Guaranteed Lowest Rates Free Hebrew Private Lesson www.iStudyHebrew.com Pardes Institute Summer Sessions http://www.pardes.org.il/ 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 |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel

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