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<h1 class="title">Israeli court grants ownership of Palestinian
lands to settlers</h1>
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<div class="stamp">Nov. 28, 2018 - <font size="-2"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=781923">http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=781923</a></font><br>
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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Israeli Supreme Court ruled, on Wednesday,
to grant ownership of Palestinian land, located near the illegal
Israeli settlement of Gush Etzion, south of Bethlehem in the
southern occupied West Bank, to the Jewish National Fund (JNF).<br>
<br>
Hebrew-language news outlets reported that the Israeli Supreme
Court’s ruling grants Israeli settlers from JNF ownership rights to
522 dunams (129 acres) of Palestinian land surrounding the illegal
Gush Etzion settlement.<br>
<br>
The ruling allows Israeli settlers to build settlements and
confiscate more Palestinian-owned lands “legally.”Sources also
reported that Israel’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal filed by
Palestinian owners of the confiscated land against a previous
decision ordered by the District Court in Jerusalem, stating that
JNF has ownership of the land in question.<br>
<br>
Sources added that JNF claimed it had obtained ownership of the land
since 1944 after purchasing it from a Palestinian family that
emigrated to Latin America.<br>
<br>
It is noteworthy that the illegal Rosh Tzurim settlement and the
council offices of the Gush Etzion settlement were already built on
the 522 dunams prior to the ruling.<br>
<br>
Additionally, Palestinians were banned from entry to the lands,
although they possess ownership rights from decades ago. In some
cases, Palestinian owners were allowed entry once to twice a year,
in order to pick olive harvest.<br>
<br>
According to settlement watchdog Peace Now, in the year and a half
since President Trump took office some 14,454 units in the West Bank
has been approved, which is more than three times the amount that
was approved in the year and half before his inauguration (4,476
units).<br>
<br>
Since the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in
1967, between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis have moved into Israeli
settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, in violation of
international law.<br>
<br>
The estimated 196 government recognized Israeli settlements
scattered across the Palestinian territory are all considered
illegal under international law.
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