CPTnet
July 11, 1998
Hebron Commentary: Israeli "State Land"--Legal Cover for Land Confiscation

by Jim Satterwhite and Bill Pluecker

In the Hebron district, as everywhere else on the West Bank, the Israeli
government routinely confiscates land or demolishes homes, claiming that the
land in question is "state land." The CPT team recently visited one such
place, Ein Shunar, where several orchards were destroyed on June 10.

The 17.5 acres (70 dunams) of orchard belonged to two families from the Al
Duebe village, located near the Israeli settlement of Beni Haifer. The fig
and olive trees had been cut down and bulldozed by Israeli Defense Forces
(IDF). The Mahanyi family of Al Duebe alone lost over 300 trees.

Even the fences separating the plots of land were cut down, and the
irrigation hoses were ripped up. The refuse left after all of the destruction
was bulldozed into a huge pit.

The fig and olive trees were from five to ten years old. Each of the olive
trees produced about 12 kg. (c. 29 lbs.) of olives annually, which in turn
produced 3 kg. of olive oil. Each kilogram of oil (roughly a quart) brings
the farmer about 20 shekels (c. $6 US), so the loss of these trees alone
represents a considerable financial burden.

The destruction came without any advance warning from the military. An officer
on the scene said that this was Israeli "state land," and that the villagers
had been warned not to plant on state land.

According to Raja Shehadeh's study, _The Law of the Land: Settlements and
Land Issues Under Israeli Military Occupation_, the concept of state land
under Israeli occupation is ambiguous and all-encompassing, based on an
arbitrary redefinition of the concept of "public land" inherited from the
Ottoman legal system. Under this category the military can claim any area of
land in the West Bank as Israeli state
land. The decision can be appealed, but the burden of proof is on the person
appealing to show that the land is in fact his/her property. The only way to
do this is to show that the land was under continuous cultivation for the
previous ten years, but since virtually no permits are issued for wells, and
rainfall is often erratic, sometimes land is not cultivated.

In any case, since the appeals panel is Israeli, most Arab claims are
rejected. However, this process provides a legal cover for a policy whereby
Palestinian land can be expropriated virtually at will. (Where it is not
expropriated outright, it is subject to severe restrictions on its use).
Generally the declaration of an area to be state land indicates that it is to
be either annexed to an existing settlement or made available for a new
settlement. Sometimes it means that it is simply to be removed from Arab use
for "security" reasons, due to proximity to an existing settlement or
settler bypass road.

In the case of the families whose orchards were destroyed, it is not clear why
the military chose to destroy their orchards --whether for a new settlement,
or simply a new "security
zone," but the net effect is that their land has effectively been
taken from them and their livelihood severely reduced.

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