January 3rd, 2011

Press release – for immediate release

Rights group Yesh Din and a Palestinian resident petition the HCJ:
The IDF seized private Palestinian land for military needs, but
settlers are using it for Beit El settlement's expansion
Four decades ago the IDF seized the lands of Dura al-Kara resident Abed al-Rahman
Kassem – for military needs. During the past few weeks it transpired that housing
units are being built illegally on these very lands, while the authorities are doing
nothing to stop it. Al-Rahman petitioned the HCJ, asking it to intervene and annul
the expropriation orders

A Palestinian resident of the West Bank village of Dura al-Kara petitioned the Israeli
High Court of Justice (HCJ) last Wednesday (December 29th), with the assistance of
human rights group Yesh Din, requesting that the court enforce the demolition
orders issued for several constructs being built on his privately-owned land.

The petition centers on five large permanent structures which are in the process of
construction; meanwhile, workers are laying the foundations for more buildings. This
construction is carried out on private Palestinian lands which are registered in the
West Bank Properties Registry. In the 1970s, the IDF seized these lands for
temporary military needs. Lately, the petitioner noticed that work is being
conducted on the seized areas – for what appears to be housing units for Jewish
settlers of Beit El.

The constructs which are underway are within the boundaries of the municipal
council of Beit El, but the construction is carried out illegally: there were no building
permits issued, nor a valid plan. The construction is carried out in violation of stop-
work orders and demolition orders which were already issued. Finally, and most
importantly, the construction is on privately-owned land, which was taken years
ago for military reasons; the buildings erected are clearly meant for housing, and
serve no military purpose whatsoever.

The petition, filed by attorneys Michael Sfard, Shlomy Zachary, Avisar Lev and
Mohammad Shuqir of the Yesh Din legal team, states that "vast stretches of land are
being stolen under the noses of the law enforcement authorities, who are aware but
choose not to act against this reckless construction. This petition is filed knowing
that without the intervention of the court, the fate of the petitioner's plot, which
was taken by the IDF for military purposes only, will be the same as the fate of other
plots on which the settlement of Beit El was erected: a fate of de facto annexation to
the settlement".

"In light of the criminal use of the plot, which serves no military purpose, this
petition calls for the annulment of the seizure order", says attorney Shlomy Zachary
of the Yesh Din legal team. "It is evident that the military purpose for the plot's
seizure no longer exists – and the plot was forsaken and fell prey to illegal real estate
caprices".

For further information please contact Yesh Din spokeswoman

Dana Zimmerman, at +972-54-245-7682