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Buildings in the Har Homa neighborhood. (Daniel Bar On / Jini)
Last update - 08:14 06/01/2008
Har Homa neighborhood slated for 'absentee' Palestinian land
By Meron Rapoport, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel, Ehud Olmert 

The Housing Ministry is pushing forward with the construction of more than 1,000 residential units in East Jerusalem's Har Homa neighborhood on land held by "absentee" Palestinians from the Bethlehem area. The move is in violation of both an instruction from the attorney general to stop applying the absentee law in East Jerusalem and explicit promises to the U.S. not to apply that law in the capital's eastern quarters.

About four weeks ago, the Housing Ministry published a tender to build 300units to complete Stage B of the Har Homa plan. The tender evoked international outrage and U.S. and Palestinian pressure to block the construction. It is now evident that most of the land for the 300 units belongs to residents of Beit Sahur who were declared absentee, so
their lands were taken by the state without compensation or legal hearings.
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According to ownership maps of the area, of the 24-dunam (6 acres) area slated for the construction, 18 dunam belonged to Beit Sahur residents and six dunam were appropriated from Jewish owners. A total of 188 of the apartments are slated for construction on the absentee land.

The application of the absentee law to East Jerusalem has been very controversial ever since the annexation of the eastern part of the city after the Six-Day War. Then attorney general Meir Shemgar stated one year after the war that there was no "justification for the annexation of East Jerusalem to amount to taking a person's property" and recommended not applying the law. Over the years there have been changes in this position, and in late 2004 the Ministerial Committee on Jerusalem Affairs
decided, in an unreported meeting, to resume application of the absentee law.

After that decision was published in Haaretz, the U.S. government demanded it be changed. As a result, in February 2005 Attorney General Menachem Mazuz published instructions adopting the 1968 Shemgar opinion and ordered the "immediate cessation of the application of the absentee law on East Jerusalem assets."

Apparently that instruction has not been implemented. In addition to the 300 units mentioned above, the state apparently plans to build another 1,000 apartments on absentee lands in Stage 3 of Har Homa. The construction of the new neighborhood was approved by the Jerusalem municipal planning board. The Housing Ministry is moving forward, even after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert directed that he be apprised of any
construction plans in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The new neighborhood is planned for east of the already-constructed Har Homa, in close proximity to Beit Sahur and Bethlehem. If built, it would isolate Bethlehem completely from the Palestinian neighborhoods south of Jerusalem.

In a hearing by the Jerusalem planning board last January city council member Pepe Alalu opposed the plan, saying the area could serve to expand Beit Sahur, which suffers from great overcrowding. In response, the Jerusalem district planner for the Housing Ministry, Ayalon Bernard, said the residents of Sur Baher do not own the Stage 3 and Stage 4 Har Homa lands, which belong to Bethlehemites. The landowners are absentees."

The land is farmland owned by about 600 Beit Sahur families who worked the plots until the construction of the separation fence in the area.
The Justice Ministry preferred to ignore the apparent contradiction between Mazuz's 2005 instructions and what appears to be sweeping application of the absentee law in order to build new neighborhoods at Har Homa.

The Justice Ministry said in a response that the land for the Har Homa construction was expropriated for public purposes from Jewish owners also, and that the absentee issue is irrelevant.

In its response, the Housing Ministry stated, "there is no decision to stop the construction" of Har Homa Stage 3 and technical amendments to the plans will be submitted to the district planning committee in the coming months to enable approval of the plan.

Related articles:
  • Rice: Har Homa homes harm talks

  • Government officials: Har Homa row sparked by 'two bureaucrats'

  • PM plans to halt E. J'lem tenders, okay Har Homa
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      1.   Let the Legislature Change the Law if Needed - That`s Their Role 01:28  |  Straight Talk 06/01/08
      2.   Shame, shame 01:38  |  Sally 06/01/08
      3.   Israeli Justice Ministry = Oxymoron 01:51  |  Papa Jay 06/01/08
      4.   Just exactly who is in control in Israel? 02:48  |  peacelover 06/01/08
      5.   This is WRONG! 03:17  |  Charles B. Hall 06/01/08
      6.   Only a deluge will likely solve this problem! 03:40  |  lakshmi 06/01/08
      7.   WOW 03:49  |  John 06/01/08
      8.   If only Atheists ruled the world. 05:04  |  kiwi girl 06/01/08
      9.   Just Kick the Palis out of Judea and Samaria 05:31  |  John Klein 06/01/08
      10.   ARABS OWN NO LAND OF ISRAEL! 05:56  |  Dodi Shtern 06/01/08
      11.   Law and winking, like a revolving proson door. 05:59  |  Fred Locke 06/01/08
      12.   This is wrong 06:10  |  Ely 06/01/08
      13.   how absolutely SUCculent!! 06:18  |  eric 06/01/08
      14.   US needs to step up 06:56  |  Steve 06/01/08
      15.   Typical Arab Absenteeism, Laying Claim to Land they Never Saw 07:09  |  Efox 06/01/08
      16.   re: kiwi girl 07:11  |  Efox 06/01/08
      17.   # 10: Dodi Shtern: Hitler said the same thing about the jews 07:33  |  Papa Jay 06/01/08
      18.   Newsflash: Haaretz renamed to Palestine Post 07:49  |  Gili 06/01/08
      19.   Arrest members of and Dissolve Housing Min. 07:49  |  Awake 06/01/08
      20.   "funny" 08:36  |  rm 06/01/08
      21.   # 9 09:24  |  Milo 06/01/08
      22.   TO Dodi Shtern #10 09:30  |  Steve Beikirch 06/01/08
      23.   #4/Who is in control? 10:01  |  Anne 06/01/08
      24.   my neighbor has been out 10:06  |  sam i am 06/01/08
      25.   Sally, 2#, what are you really ashamed about? 10:18  |  Judah 06/01/08
      26.   the tragedy of this story 10:19  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 06/01/08
      27.   #21 SAM I AM 10:32  |  DANNY 06/01/08
      28.   Europe should return the favor to Jews. 10:43  |  Dutch Dirk 06/01/08
      29.   #19 steve beikirch 10:53  |  danny 06/01/08
      30.   #2 SALLY 10:59  |  DANNY 06/01/08
      31.   Just wondering 11:00  |  Iz Ray Leigh 06/01/08
      32.   DUTCH DIRK 11:05  |  DANNY 06/01/08
      33.   Dutch Dirk 11:13  |  Iz Ray Leigh 06/01/08
      34.   # 14 my my my, efox; the kiwi girl got your gall! 11:19  |  eric 06/01/08
      35.   #21 SAM I AM 11:24  |  DANNY 06/01/08
      36.   # 15 ohhhhhh...efox; where lies the end... 11:29  |  eric 06/01/08
      37.   Jewish land. 11:38  |  Avraham 06/01/08
      38.   # 15 efox 11:42  |  Axel 06/01/08
      39.   # 10 dodi 11:44  |  Axel 06/01/08
      40.   bulid build build and build yet again 11:54  |  harzion 06/01/08
      41.   lakshmi prays for a deluge 11:55  |  jaihind 06/01/08
      42.   lakshmi "the un gave us kashmir" 11:57  |  jaihind 06/01/08
      43.   lakshmi your problems in india are so vast 12:02  |  jaihind 06/01/08
      44.   axel "clasical zionism" 12:10  |  honigstein 06/01/08
      45.   axel taunts jews with words from the dictator 12:13  |  honigstein 06/01/08
      46.   Flagrantly criminal, provocative armed robbery 12:14  |  Ivar 06/01/08
      47.   # 26 i beg to differ, cipora 12:19  |  eric 06/01/08
      48.   # 44 honigstein 12:23  |  Axel 06/01/08
      49.   lakshmi you remind me of students from the third world 12:27  |  jaihind 06/01/08
      50.   # 33 iz ray re dutch dirk 12:28  |  Axel 06/01/08
      51.   Security as a fig leaf for blatant theft 12:50  |  Ben Alofs 06/01/08
      52.   # 45 honigstein 12:51  |  Axel 06/01/08
      53.   axel from your starting point i would have thought you 12:55  |  honigstein 06/01/08
      54.   #28 why restrict it to jews dirk muslims too 13:34  |  victor hardman 06/01/08
      55.   Land theft 14:35  |  Jacob 06/01/08
      56.   possession is 90% of the law,so i thought 14:51  |  lex pinchon 06/01/08
      57.   # 5 Charles B. Hall 14:56  |  Petra 06/01/08
      58.   # 10 No questions and you`re right!!!!! 14:57  |  Petra 06/01/08
      59.   # 16 re: Kiwi girl EFox 15:04  |  Petra 06/01/08
      60.   # 12 Eli Montreal and the land you live in was 15:06  |  Petra 06/01/08
      61.   # 17 Papa Jay and the camps in Lebanon, Jordon etc.? 15:10  |  Petra 06/01/08
      62.   # 11 what`s `proson`? 15:11  |  Petra 06/01/08
      63.   # 24 Sam I am- we`ve heard about rockets,suicide bombers tunnels. 15:15  |  Petra 06/01/08
      64.   John Klein Canada 15:17  |  Petra 06/01/08
      65.   # 7 Wow, porBertys? what`s that, Dummy? 15:18  |  Petra 06/01/08
      66.   How Jews can make easy money or easy mitzvah in Har Homa 15:45  |  Tosefta 06/01/08
      67.   The first valid reason I`ve heard for not building 15:48  |  David Teich 06/01/08
      68.   Uh, Oh! There`s Too Much Wrong With This 15:48  |  Jeff Northridge 06/01/08
      69.   Is "Liars" too strong a word? I think not! 16:13  |  Toronto`s Finest 06/01/08
      70.   we are idiots 16:26  |  Israeli guy 06/01/08
      71.   Israel continues to Defy the Roadmap 16:30  |  Abe 06/01/08
      72.   shocked, shocked, shocked 16:55  |  edgar 06/01/08
      73.   HOW WILL IT SERVE YOU TO GAIN THE LAND BUT LOSE YOUR SOUL? 17:39  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 06/01/08
      74.   # 53 honigstein 18:34  |  Axel 06/01/08
      75.   #35 18:40  |  sam i am 06/01/08
      76.   24 dunam is 6 acres is 2,43 hectars is about a size of a stadium 18:51  |  Uri 06/01/08
      77.   #54 Victorpaul Harrisman 18:55  |  Labhras 06/01/08
      78.   #9 John Klein, wannabe war-criminal 19:17  |  Boycott 06/01/08
      79.   evil nation 19:19  |  JL 06/01/08
      80.   # 57-65 poor little Petra 19:27  |  Kris 06/01/08
      81.   Bird from outerspace is a perfect name for CJK 19:28  |  Labhras 06/01/08
      82.   It`s day light theft 19:28  |  The Arab Hammer 06/01/08
      83.   Where are the peace makers.Margie in TA 19:32  |  Labhras 06/01/08
      84.   Immediately after the UN had adopted its plan of partition, 19:49  |  Joseph E . 06/01/08
      85.   #64 petrafied 20:00  |  Labhras 06/01/08
      86.   thieving carries on... 20:01  |  ravi 06/01/08
      87.   Moral eyesore 20:27  |  David 06/01/08
      88.   #77 labarse of arabia the mystery man owns property ? 20:56  |  victor hardman 06/01/08
      89.   Same as Eminent Domain 21:07  |  Nate 06/01/08
      90.   we know who you are not Paul-Harris " Victor" 21:10  |  Labhras 06/01/08
      91.   Jeff Northridge 21:16  |  Labhras 06/01/08
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      93.   Do I get a swimming pool or tennix courts with my house? 22:31  |  Uday 06/01/08
      94.   Labras and Lakshmi 22:31  |  Uday 06/01/08
      95.   #82 the arab hammer and the ottoman empire 22:39  |  victor hardman 06/01/08
      96.   palestnians pressure to end building 23:03  |  bozhidar 06/01/08
      97.   #90labarse of arabia will not tell us all who he really is 23:13  |  victor hardman 06/01/08
      98.   ravi what are you doing personally 23:13  |  guru nanak 06/01/08
      99.   when will the pope have mercy on africa 23:15  |  papalbull 06/01/08
      100.   why are we not given more details 23:18  |  papalbull 06/01/08
      101.   #92 Altalena 23:27  |  Labhras 06/01/08
      102.   the red cross rejected magen david adom 23:27  |  papalbull 06/01/08
      103.   does ireland and do the catholic nations 23:30  |  papalbull 06/01/08
      104.   Guru Nanak and hypocricy 23:33  |  Truth 06/01/08
      105.   I have decided that those in power......... 23:57  |  Deborah 06/01/08
      106.   Peacelover, no. 4 00:06  |  W 07/01/08
      107.   #97 Victorpaul Harrisman 00:11  |  Labhras 07/01/08
      108.   To 101. Labhras. The good of the country 00:12  |  Altalena 07/01/08
      109.   #92 Can someone correct me? 00:14  |  Outsider 07/01/08
      110.   ARABS BUILDING & BUILDING 00:16  |  The Teacher/Instruct 07/01/08
      111.   104. thankyou crosseyed instructor 01:14  |  amazed 07/01/08
      112.   Very unbecoming 01:28  |  Danite 07/01/08
      113.   #67 Normal practice, is it David? 01:44  |  Johnboy 07/01/08
      114.   It`s for crying 02:20  |  Edith 07/01/08
      115.   #22 Beikirch 04:03  |  * BEN JABO 07/01/08
      116.   #24 sam u wee 04:04  |  * BEN JABO 07/01/08
      117.   #103 Truth - Melbourne 04:08  |  * BEN JABO 07/01/08
      118.   #90 labarse 04:12  |  * BEN JABO 07/01/08
      119.   #102 The ICRC rejected all national symbols, papalbull 05:08  |  Johnboy 07/01/08
      120.   Israel don`t do this!! 05:08  |  Doc holliday 07/01/08
      121.   Territory lost in a failed war to destroy Israel 05:14  |  Steve 07/01/08
      122.   #89 Emminent Domain is not an option, Nate 05:19  |  Johnboy 07/01/08
      123.   how many times have I told you.... 05:25  |  maria 07/01/08
      124.   to all of you who are ignorant .......... 05:39  |  maria 07/01/08
      125.   when the jew is absent from the land.... 05:50  |  maria 07/01/08
      126.   Is this a joke? Now the claim in absenteeism? 06:24  |  betz55 07/01/08
      127.   #109 watch your mouth! 06:40  |  nsm 07/01/08
      128.   #106 Not much of a claim there, Steve. 07:03  |  Johnboy 07/01/08
      129.   #113 betz55 and the implications of "absenteeism" 07:09  |  Johnboy 07/01/08
      130.   #114 Back to the history books for you nsm. 07:19  |  Johnboy 07/01/08
      131.   Johnboy has returned, pretending he is in Australia 07:25  |  * BEN JABO 07/01/08
      132.   Israel plans to built houses in Amman 07:37  |  Jacob 07/01/08
      133.   #124 *BEN JABO is back to claim "war-as-non-war-is-war" 07:46  |  Johnboy 07/01/08
      134.   #15 07:52  |  staydead23 07/01/08
      135.   Ben Jabo and stolen land 08:08  |  Truths 07/01/08
      136.   The Divine Land Grant was to the Children of Israel, not to the 08:29  |  jack 07/01/08
      137.   #107 labarse just like the weather in boston 08:43  |  victor hardman 07/01/08
      138.   #13 johnboy on parallel and simultaneous 08:49  |  victor hardman 07/01/08
      139.   #138 Victor uses the wrong words 09:49  |  Johnboy 07/01/08
      140.   Mr Jack, 50% of what? 10:03  |  mary for jews 07/01/08
      141.   #133 Johnboy, pretending he is in AUSTRALIA 11:33  |  * BEN JABO 07/01/08
      142.   #135 TRUTHS - hardly the whole truth 11:49  |  * BEN JABO 07/01/08
      143.   Johnboy - why do you continue to claim Australia 12:19  |  * BEN JABO 07/01/08
      144.   JB: Yes, as normal as your spewing and running 16:37  |  David Teich 07/01/08
      145.   141: He might be there, it`s just that 16:38  |  David Teich 07/01/08
      146.   Johnboy - Your 6 day war facts are pure FICTION 17:34  |  * BEN JABO 07/01/08
      147.   # 110 The Teacher/Instruct.If You Are Still With Us.A Question.. 21:54  |  Kathy 07/01/08
      148.   #144 doobie doobie do, David 00:45  |  Johnboy 08/01/08
      149.   #146 BEN JABO and the "objectivity" of US media 01:24  |  Johnboy 08/01/08
      150.   #147 Kathy - Shadchan - You could have asked me 02:11  |  * BEN JABO 08/01/08
      151.   TO STEVE #121 09:02  |  Steve Beikirch 08/01/08
      152.   148-9: JB`s dosages too low yet again 15:14  |  David Teich 08/01/08
      153.   148-9: JB`s dosages too low yet again, p2 15:18  |  David Teich 08/01/08
      154.   151: No Steve, you`re wrong yet again 15:23  |  David Teich 08/01/08
      155.   # 150 *BEN JABO..Yes I could Have Asked You,BUT! 16:03  |  Kathy 08/01/08
      156.   #152 David out of touch with reality Part 1 01:55  |  Johnboy 09/01/08
      157.   #152 David out of touch with reality Part 2 02:04  |  Johnboy 09/01/08
      158.   #153 David`s shiney cap keeps out the evil rays 02:24  |  Johnboy 09/01/08
      159.   #154 Hahahahahahahah! David, you are so funny 05:38  |  Johnboy 09/01/08
      160.   #154 David, the UN Charter, and uppsie-down town 06:42  |  Johnboy 09/01/08
      161.   #151 Beikirch 06:59  |  * BEN JABO 09/01/08
      162.   #151-2 Beikirch re: Roadblocks & Explosives 18:24  |  * BEN JABO 09/01/08
      163.   156-60: JB only in touch with surreality, p1 16:59  |  David Teich 11/01/08
      164.   156-60: JB only in touch with surreality, p2 17:05  |  David Teich 11/01/08
      165.   156-60: JB only in touch with surreality, p3 17:10  |  David Teich 11/01/08
      166.   156-60: JB only in touch with surreality, p4 17:14  |  David Teich 11/01/08
      167.   156-60: JB only in touch with surreality, p5 17:20  |  David Teich 11/01/08
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