Palestinians to High Court: Israel's West Bank land claim will cut Bethlehem off from south
The Israeli government is seeking a ruling from the High Court of Justice on Wednesday that would permit it to declare ownership of a large swath of land in the West Bank settlement of Efrat.
The Palestinian petitioners in the case are seeking to head off such a declaration, claiming they own the land. Local Palestinians have also expressed concern that if the land is claimed by the state, Efrat will be expanded and Bethlehem will ultimately be cut off from Palestinian towns to the south.
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Wednesday's session before the High Court is the fourth on the matter since it accepted the case in 2009. In the course of the legal proceedings, it became clear that a Jewish-owned parcel of about 25 acres was not being declared state land even though it had not been cultivated or officially registered. The petitioners' lawyer, Sani Khoury, cited this as evidence that the state had intended all along to expropriate the land his clients claim as their own and transfer it to Jews. If true, this would make the declaration of state ownership of the land invalid under the law.
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Dror Etkes, who has researched Israeli control of land in the West Bank, said a final declaration of the disputed land as state land and the building of roads by settlers would be another step in encircling the major Palestinian towns in the area – Bethlehem, Beit Sahour and Beit Jala – through the expansion of settlements, military camps and limitations on movement where there is full Israeli control.
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http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/palestinians-to-high-court-israel-s-west-bank-land-claim-will-cut-bethlehem-off-from-south.premium-1.508988