Slippery Slope

The Israel Land Authority has admitted it had transferred 1200 dunams of private Palestinian farmland in the north of the Jordan Valley to Kibbuts Merav approximately 30 years ago. (Haaretz)

(Hebrew – Haaretz)

Data published by Ir Amim association reveals that in 2012 the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Israel Land Authority published tenders for the construction of 2,386 housing units beyond the green line in Jerusalem, a marked rise relative to the annual average of 726 housing units in the previous decade. (Haaretz)

(Hebrew – Haaretz)

The house of Faiz Abu-Hamra, a resident of Segev Shalom, was demolished by the Israel Land Authority, even though it was built with the agreement of the Ministry of Construction and Housing’s Authority for the Regulation of Bedouin Settlements and the approval of the court.

(Hebrew – Na Le’Akir website)

Beit-She’an Mayor Jackie Levi and several of his family members, including MK Orly Levi-Abukasis (Yisrael Beitenu), won a Israel Land Authority and Ministry of Construction and Housing tender, which was intended for the city’s homeless.

(Hebrew - Walla)

The Beer Sheva District Court has issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting work in the Bedouin village of Al Arakib, after members of the Al Touri tribe argued that Israel Land Authority had started preparing the ground for planning on land to which they claim ownership. The court decided that there is a risk of the State changing the facts on the ground, and for this reason the work on site must stop. In response, an ILA representative said that “the decision in question is ludicrous.”

(Hebrew)

Israel Land Administration (ILA) and Border Patrol forces demolished a significant part of the Neighborhood 68, on Helen Keller street, Lod. More than 80 people, including 51 children, were made homeless. No alternative accommodation was provided, despite the heavy rains. The demolition orders were issued at 2 a.m. by court order, pursuant to the claim that the homes were constructed illegally on ILA lands. Seven households were destroyed, sewage infrastructure was torn out of the ground, and water and electricity connections disconnected. (Hebrew)

The Israel Land Authority has been transferring properties in the Silwan neighborhood in Occupied East Jerusalem to the ELAD and Ateret Cohanim associations at low prices, without offering them up for competitive bidding, as required by law (English).

Israel Military Industries (IMI) is not permitting the Israel Land Authority (ILA) to carry out activities required for coping with contamination at the Nof Yam site in Herzliya, where an IMI plant was located until 1992 (Hebrew). IMI’s legal counsel, Idit Noah, informed the ILA that she objects to a risk assessment of the area as long as the IMI is not given a guarantee of indemnification in case legal claims are pressed against it for damage caused in the course of the assessment and a waiver of liability for all damage.