Israel set to legalize West Bank outpost, taking over private Palestinian land

[Jefferson23]

The decision to grant retroactive approval to Netiv Ha’avot, approved by Defense Minister Ya'alon, marks the largest appropriation of West Bank land in years.

By Chaim Levinson | Apr. 13, 2014 | 3:15 PM

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon has given the state the green light to retroactively legalize the Netiv Ha’avot outpost in Gush Etzion, declaring 984 dunams around the outpost state land in what is the largest appropriation of territory in the West Bank in many years.

The Netiv Ha’avot outpost, adjacent to the settlements of Elazar and Alon Shvut, was built without proper authorization in 2001 and was the subject of two High Court of Justice petitions. In the first, in 2002, Palestinians sought the demolition of the outpost, which they said was built on their privately-owned land.

The court ordered the formation of a government committee to examine the ownership issue, but the government did not do so. In 2008, Peace Now filed a second petition seeking demolition of the outpost. The state then claimed that a new committee would be formed to examine the land ownership issue. In October 2010, Justice Edmond Levy rejected the Peace Now petition because the land survey had not yet been completed.

However, the survey, which was carried out a month later - and which the Civil Administration tried to hide - indicated that 60 percent of the outpost was built on privately-owned Palestinian farmland.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.585377

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

1. This is just disgusting consumption of one country by a belligerent occupier.

The Palestinians need to take this and every other case of Israeli illegal settlement and unlawful confiscation (see theft by brute force) to the ICC.

Take Israel to the Hague!