washingtonpost.com
JERUSALEM, Jan. 23 -- Israel has quietly seized large tracts of Jerusalem land owned by Palestinian residents of the West Bank after they were cut off from their property by Israel's separation barrier, attorneys for the landowners said.
The land was taken after the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided several months ago to enforce a long-dormant law that allows Israel to seize lands of Palestinians who fled or were driven out during the 1948-49 war that followed the establishment of the Jewish state.
The new policy, first reported in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, could affect hundreds of Palestinians who own property in Jerusalem and intensify the dispute over the city, which Israel and the Palestinians both claim as their capital.
The affected landowners live in the West Bank towns of Bethlehem and Beit Jalla, just south of Jerusalem. Their land was taken in August, after the West Bank separation barrier cut them off from their land in the city.
The land was transferred to the Custodian of Absentee Property, a body formed by a 1950 law that allowed the seizure of property of Palestinians who had left Israel during the war, according to documents from Israel's Finance and Justice ministries.
Johnny Atik, a Bethlehem resident, said Sunday that he lost eight acres of olive groves within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries as a result of the new policy. The land is 100 yards from his home, which sits on the other side of an electronic fence and patrol road that are part of the separation barrier.
Atik said land belonging to 40 families in his neighborhood had been taken.
Hundreds of other Palestinians are now at risk of having land seized, according to Daniel Seidemann and Mohammed Dahla, attorneys representing several of the landowners.
Atik said he planned to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Finance Ministry declined to discuss the policy, and a spokesman insisted he would only respond to written questions. The ministry's written response did not address how much land had been taken and whether landowners would be compensated.
Israel's absentee land law was first used in the 1950s. At least 20,000 Arab homes in the western part of Jerusalem were taken under this law, said Moshe Amirav, a former member of the Jerusalem City Council.
In the 1967 Middle East war, Israel captured the eastern half of Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan, then expanded Jerusalem's municipal boundaries and annexed the area.
Sharon's office declined to comment, except to confirm the government's decision that the Custodian of Absentee Property has the authority to "transfer, sell or lease" lands in East Jerusalem that belong to absentee owners.
The Finance Ministry said the properties of the Bethlehem-area landowners were transferred to state custody after the 1967 war. Asked what the state would do with the land, the ministry said the question was "not relevant."
1/28/2005
UN envoy urges Israel to end "violations" of Lebanese airspace
UN envoy urges Israel to end "violations" of Lebanese airspace
Beirut, 26 January: The United Nations Information Office in Beirut issued the following statement:
"The personal envoy of the UN secretary-general in South Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, has expressed deep concern over the continuing numerous Israeli air violations of the Blue Line." The statement added: "At 1300 [1100 gmt] this afternoon, 11 Israeli military planes and an unmanned B-7 aircraft violated Lebanese airspace, in addition to six violations recorded yesterday by five military planes and one unmanned aircraft."
The UN envoy said that "the UN had on numerous occasions drawn attention to the continued violations of the Blue Line, as was recently reported in the secretary-general's report to the Security Council. The personal envoy of the UN secretary-general reiterates his calls to Israeli authorities to put an end to these violations, and reminds all parties concerned that one violation of the Blue Line does not justify another violation."
Beirut, 26 January: The United Nations Information Office in Beirut issued the following statement:
"The personal envoy of the UN secretary-general in South Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, has expressed deep concern over the continuing numerous Israeli air violations of the Blue Line." The statement added: "At 1300 [1100 gmt] this afternoon, 11 Israeli military planes and an unmanned B-7 aircraft violated Lebanese airspace, in addition to six violations recorded yesterday by five military planes and one unmanned aircraft."
The UN envoy said that "the UN had on numerous occasions drawn attention to the continued violations of the Blue Line, as was recently reported in the secretary-general's report to the Security Council. The personal envoy of the UN secretary-general reiterates his calls to Israeli authorities to put an end to these violations, and reminds all parties concerned that one violation of the Blue Line does not justify another violation."
1/27/2005
Israeli war planes conduct "mock" raids; fly over Beirut
Source: Lebanese National News Agency web site, Beirut, in Arabic 1151 gmt 26 Jan 05
The correspondent of the Lebanese National News Agency in Bint Jbayl reported that "Israeli war planes flew over Bint Jbayl and the border villages at 1105 Wednesday." The correspondent added: "At 1140 [0940 gmt], enemy planes renewed their flights over Bint Jbayl and the western sector, and conducted mock raids."
The Guidance Directorate of the Army Command has issued the following statement:
"An Israeli reconnaissance plane coming from the direction of the sea opposite the city of Tyre violated the Lebanese airspace this morning at 0725 [0525 gmt]. The plane flew in circles between Tyre, Sidon and Al-Nabatiyah, and departed back over the sea opposite Al-Naqurah at 1000."
The Guidance Directorate of the Army Command also issued the following statement:
"Four Israeli war planes violated southern Lebanese airspace this morning at 1100 [0900 gmt]. Two of the planes headed north towards the city of Shaka and flew in circles between Shaka and Beirut and then returned south. The four planes departed towards the occupied territories at 1200."
The correspondent of the Lebanese National News Agency in Bint Jbayl reported that "Israeli war planes flew over Bint Jbayl and the border villages at 1105 Wednesday." The correspondent added: "At 1140 [0940 gmt], enemy planes renewed their flights over Bint Jbayl and the western sector, and conducted mock raids."
The Guidance Directorate of the Army Command has issued the following statement:
"An Israeli reconnaissance plane coming from the direction of the sea opposite the city of Tyre violated the Lebanese airspace this morning at 0725 [0525 gmt]. The plane flew in circles between Tyre, Sidon and Al-Nabatiyah, and departed back over the sea opposite Al-Naqurah at 1000."
The Guidance Directorate of the Army Command also issued the following statement:
"Four Israeli war planes violated southern Lebanese airspace this morning at 1100 [0900 gmt]. Two of the planes headed north towards the city of Shaka and flew in circles between Shaka and Beirut and then returned south. The four planes departed towards the occupied territories at 1200."
1/12/2005
Israeli Gunboats Rake Lebanese Fishing Harbors with Machinegun Fire
Well the tensions are on the rise, but is this fair play????? US tax dollars going to Terrorism? Granted, there was a convoy attacked in the Sheb'a farms area of Golan, by Hizballah, but I don't think that targeting commercial boats in the south is very fair. Read it for yourself. I will post more at a later date.
Israeli Gunboats Rake Lebanese Fishing Harbors with Machinegun Fire
Israel's navy gunboats made repeated forays into South Lebanon's territorial waters overnight, raking fishing boats with machine-gun fire in the aftermath of Hizbullah's strike that killed an Israeli officer in the Shabaa farms over the weekend, the Beirut media reported on Wednesday.
Helicopter gunships provided air cover to the maritime incursions that were staged under the glare of parachute flares along the coastal strip stretching from Naqoura right on the borderline with Israel to the southern outskirts of Tyre, 10 miles north of the Jewish state..
There were no reports of casualties or serious damage. But Lebanese fishermen in the targeted area that houses the command headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping force abstained from sailing out to earn their living early Wednesday morning, according to media reports.
An Nahar, which was the first to report the offshore tension, said a buildup of Israeli armor was spotted in the environs of the northern Jewish settlement of Zareit close to the U.N.-drawn blue line on the border of South Lebanon.
Earlier media reports said Israeli army tanks rolled up to hilltop positions facing south Lebanon in the aftermath of Hizbullah's Sunday attack, which provoked an Israeli retaliation of air strikes and field artillery barrages in which a French officer from a U.N. truce observer unit was killed along with a Hizbullah fighter.
The Frenchman, Major Jean-Louis Valet, a father of four children, was given a military sendoff at Beirut airport (as shown in photo). A cedar medal conferred by President Lahoud was pinned to Valet's flag-draped coffin before a French air-force plane carried the body to Paris.
Israel's naval belligerency came a few hours after the U.N. Security Council called on Lebanon, Israel and de facto irregular elements, meaning Hizbullah, to exercise "utmost restraint" to prevent the new wave of hostilities from spinning out of control.
The council statement, read by Argentina's U.N. Ambassador Cesar Mayoral, the current council president, paid tribute to the U.N. victims of the attack, extended sympathy to their families, and demanded respect for the security and safety of all U.N. personnel.
"The members of the Security Council reiterated their call on the parties to fulfill the commitments they have given to respect in its entirety the Blue Line and to exercise the utmost restraint," the statement said. (Naharnet-AP)
Beirut, Updated 12 Jan 05, 09:36
Israeli Gunboats Rake Lebanese Fishing Harbors with Machinegun Fire
Israel's navy gunboats made repeated forays into South Lebanon's territorial waters overnight, raking fishing boats with machine-gun fire in the aftermath of Hizbullah's strike that killed an Israeli officer in the Shabaa farms over the weekend, the Beirut media reported on Wednesday.
Helicopter gunships provided air cover to the maritime incursions that were staged under the glare of parachute flares along the coastal strip stretching from Naqoura right on the borderline with Israel to the southern outskirts of Tyre, 10 miles north of the Jewish state..
There were no reports of casualties or serious damage. But Lebanese fishermen in the targeted area that houses the command headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping force abstained from sailing out to earn their living early Wednesday morning, according to media reports.
An Nahar, which was the first to report the offshore tension, said a buildup of Israeli armor was spotted in the environs of the northern Jewish settlement of Zareit close to the U.N.-drawn blue line on the border of South Lebanon.
Earlier media reports said Israeli army tanks rolled up to hilltop positions facing south Lebanon in the aftermath of Hizbullah's Sunday attack, which provoked an Israeli retaliation of air strikes and field artillery barrages in which a French officer from a U.N. truce observer unit was killed along with a Hizbullah fighter.
The Frenchman, Major Jean-Louis Valet, a father of four children, was given a military sendoff at Beirut airport (as shown in photo). A cedar medal conferred by President Lahoud was pinned to Valet's flag-draped coffin before a French air-force plane carried the body to Paris.
Israel's naval belligerency came a few hours after the U.N. Security Council called on Lebanon, Israel and de facto irregular elements, meaning Hizbullah, to exercise "utmost restraint" to prevent the new wave of hostilities from spinning out of control.
The council statement, read by Argentina's U.N. Ambassador Cesar Mayoral, the current council president, paid tribute to the U.N. victims of the attack, extended sympathy to their families, and demanded respect for the security and safety of all U.N. personnel.
"The members of the Security Council reiterated their call on the parties to fulfill the commitments they have given to respect in its entirety the Blue Line and to exercise the utmost restraint," the statement said. (Naharnet-AP)
Beirut, Updated 12 Jan 05, 09:36
1/07/2005
Lebanon the first day
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