Israels Land Registration Plan Criticized for Palestinian Dispossession

Israeli Government Reinstates Land Registration Process in Occupied West Bank

The Israeli government has approved a proposal to resume land registration processes in the occupied West Bank for the first time since 1967. The decision, made by far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich, Yariv Levin, and Israel Katz, will allow for the formalization of land ownership.

According to Bimkom, an Israeli human rights organization, the new process will facilitate the dispossession and displacement of Palestinians in violation of international law. Michal Braier, head of research at Bimkom, stated that the land registration process will be inaccessible to large segments of the Palestinian population who never had their land formally registered or may fail to prove ownership.

The occupied West Bank has approximately 30% of its total area registered under the Jordanian Administration, which followed British Mandate rule from 1949 to 1967. This leaves about 70% of the territory unregistered, making it difficult to determine who owns the land. Even for those whose land was registered, proving ownership is a challenging task due to high legal barriers.

The Israeli occupation authorities froze most land settlement procedures in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in 1968, which made it hard for Palestinians to prove transfer of ownership down the family line. Additionally, many original documents may have been lost or stored in homes that are now inaccessible to Palestinian refugees displaced by the Arab-Israeli war.

The Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now described the reinstated land registration process as a “full annexation” of Palestinian land. Hagit Ofran, a member of Peace Now, stated that the government is asking for papers dating back to the British mandate or Jordanian time 100 years ago, making it difficult for Palestinians to prove ownership.

The Israeli Supreme Court recently rejected a petition opposing the resumption of the land registration process, deemed it “premature” to rule on the implementation of the government’s decision. The court has not provided details on how the process will unfold.

Source: Al Jazeera