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| Israel-Palestine |
| Israelis use barrier and 55-year-old law to quietly seize Palestinians' land |
| 2005-01-31 |
| The Israeli government has quietly seized thousands of acres of Palestinian-owned land in and around east Jerusalem after a secret cabinet decision to use a 55-year-old law against Arabs separated from farms and orchards by the vast "security barrier". Most of the hundreds of Palestinian families whose land has been confiscated without compensation have not been formally notified that their property has been transferred to the Israeli state. But plans have already been drawn up to expand Jewish settlements on to some of the expropriated territory. The move has drawn stinging criticism from the Palestinian leadership and some Israelis, who call it "legalised theft" and say it is evidence that the vast steel and concrete barrier under construction through the West Bank and Jerusalem is less for security than a move to expand Israel's borders. "The government is walling in east Jerusalem for the first time in six centuries," said Daniel Seidemann, an Israeli lawyer fighting the seizures on behalf of several Palestinian families. "It is turning the eminently reversible step of a barrier into an irreversible step by building immovable homes. It is a move to assert aggressive Israeli sovereignty over east Jerusalem." Palestinian officials have warned that if the strategy is not reversed it could prove an insurmountable obstacle to a final peace agreement with Israel. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem as the capital of an independent state. The cabinet secretly decided to seize the land in July last year using a law passed in 1950 allowing the state to confiscate property abandoned by Arabs who fled to neighbouring countries during Israel's independence war... |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #9 Good point, BAR. I didn't pay attention. TW-If that's the case, then the article might be titled instead: Palestinians and Israelis Find Innovative Solution to Land Standoff. :) Amazing how the way a story is told can be so influential. |
| Posted by: jules 2 2005-01-31 11:37:05 PM |
| #8 B-a-R is right. The Palestinians are getting the abandoned Israeli settlements built on the far side of the barrier in exchange -- in many cases former scrubland that the Israelis paid for in cash. So in exchange for some land, they get modern houses with running water and electricity. This is a Guardian article -- how truth-based do you really expect it to be? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-01-31 11:09:41 PM |
| #7 If this isn't right, the thing to do then is to run it through the courts. The Israeli court system seems to operate on an even keel, so let it resolve the question of the seizures' legality. Personally tho, I'd like to see a piece on this by some other outfit. Quite frankly, I don't particularly care much for news pieces originating from the Guardian. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-01-31 10:45:05 PM |
| #6 I think that headline should read: "Israelis use barrier and 55-year-old law to quietly liberate portions of Palestinian-occupied Israel" Ah, much better! |
| Posted by: Sheik Abu Bin Ali Al-Yahood 2005-01-31 9:13:09 PM |
| #5 The wall caused these people to be cut off from their land. This is a BS move that plays into the hands of Israel's detractors and flat pisses me off. I have no lost love for the Paleos but stuff like this ain't right. I have never been a fan of Sharon things like this are why that is so. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2005-01-31 8:43:22 PM |
| #4 I think it's the point at which Israel starts losing American voices of support-is that bright? There's no need for provocative moves right now. Mobility and growth, yes, seizing Palestinian owned land, no. That is an act of aggression no American here would tolerate against their own property. Over the top. |
| Posted by: jules 2 2005-01-31 8:36:25 PM |
| #3 At least they did it quietly. Wouldn't want to disturb anyone. |
| Posted by: Mark E. 2005-01-31 8:12:32 PM |
| #2 *yawns* I wouldn't care if they seized ALL of the mythical "Palestinian" land. |
| Posted by: Crusader 2005-01-31 8:05:44 PM |
| #1 Works for me. The paleos could have stayed in place and become Israelis; instead they took their prejudice and hatred and fled in the hope that the other Arabs would destroy all the Jews and the paleos would get their own land and the Jews' land too. Payback's a bitch, ain't it? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-01-31 8:02:29 PM |