Israel bans the return of confiscated and unused land to Arab owners

The Israeli parliament (the Knesset) has passed a law to restore to its original owners confiscated land which is not being used for the purpose for which it was seized in the first place. However, the new law has been drafted in such a way that makes it impossible for Palestinians to use the new legislation to have their land returned to them.

According to a particular section of the new law, land that was confiscated by decree more than 25 years ago cannot be restored to its original owners, even if the land is not being used for the purpose for which it was confiscated, such as a “military zone” or “nature reserve”. Land which was seized before 1985   which includes almost all the Palestinian territory seized officially by Israel – is thus “non-returnable”. The law also includes many complex sub-clauses that make the return of small land-holdings almost impossible, even those which have been confiscated within the past 25 years.

It is notable that while Israel continues to seize Palestinian land, especially in the Naqeb area, it does not regard the seizures as “confiscation” because the state does not recognise Palestinian ownership unless title deeds have been issued officially by Israel.

Dr. Zahalka added, “In fact, you could not prove that the confiscated Arab lands are not being used for general purposes; the general purpose of this state is to confiscate Arab lands and protect them from the so-called ‘hijackers’ (according to the official state doctrine, namely Zionism).”

Stressing that the purpose is to steal Palestinian land which has been achieved through dozens of laws passed in accordance with “democratic” procedures in the Knesset, Dr. Zahalka questioned the basis of Israeli democracy itself. “What kind of democracy can allow the plunder of Arab land just because they are Arabs?” he asked. “What kind of equality before the law are you talking about if all your legal efforts are intended to prevent innocent people from availing themselves of their rights?”

He continued, “We do not want your democracy or your equality. We want our land that you have stolen from us. Take your democracy and give us our land back.”

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.