For More Information, Call:
Land and Water Establishment For Immediate Release: Tel: (972) (02) 812364/824559 23 May, 1995 Fax: (972) (02) 811072
Statement of Land and Water Establishment
on the Suspension of the Confiscation Orders of Lands in Bet Safafa and Bet Hanina.
On 22 May, during a contentious Knesset meeting, the Israeli government suspended the orders to confiscate the 530 dunums of land in north and south Jerusalem. The Arab Democratic Party and Khadash (Communist) called for a vote of no-confidence unless the issue was addressed. This prompted the vote in the Knesset, which resulted in a highly ambiguous suspension (not cancellation) of the orders.
The international attention focused on these latest confiscations was instrumental in forcing the Knesset to face this issue. But suspending the confiscation orders is a relatively meaningless move. A suspended order can be re-issued at any time, and will only be used to divert the intense international attention given to the confiscations and to diffuse the popular Arab protests that have threatened to spread throughout the Jerusalem area.
Land and Water Establishment condemns this latest attempt by the Israeli government to draw attention away from their continuing policy of strangulation of Arab Jerusalem through road construction, land confiscation and property destruction
Even more disturbing, however, is the lack of attention paid to the by-pass road currently under construction between Ramallah in the north and Bethlehem in the south. This road has required the confiscation of a staggering 6800 dunums of land. Ostensibly for the reployment of troops away from Arab population centers as stipulated in the interim talks, this road will be used as a settlers road, and will serve to cut off the growth of Ramallah and its surrounding villages, East Jerusalem and the villages in the south near Bethlehem. Land and Water Establishment has accepted the cases of several landowners affected by the construction of this road.
LAWE calls on all those concerned with the issue of Jerusalem not to be fooled by the Israeli government because they temporarily suspended confiscation orders, but to continue the pressure on the Israel government and demand the end to confiscation, property destruction and road construction.
Land and Water Establishment is a non-governmental organization, dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. Their activity concentrates on land confiscation, property destruction and environmental issues.