This Is So Cool - Finally, the Real Occupation

Haaretz, ha-ha-Haaretz, reports:

State moves to expand settlement on Palestinian land confiscated by Jordan

Israel is pushing ahead with a plan that would legitimize construction on land near the settlement of Ofra in the West Bank...that it was the Jordanians, not the Israelis, who confiscated the land - before Israel took over the West Bank during the Six-Day War in 1967.

Jordan had confiscated land from the villages of Ein Yabrud and Silwad to build a military camp...The inspection unit says 20 prefab homes have been placed at the site, and the land is being prepared for more construction. Work has also begun on a central public building.

Two months ago, the original Palestinian owners petitioned the High Court of Justice to demolish the buildings and give them back the land....Responding to the recent petition, the state said it has no intention to carry out the Civil Administration's demolition orders, and that it plans to prepare the site for construction.

The affidavit, submitted by an adviser to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Eitan Broshi, noted that the decision to legalize the construction was made after it was found that the land had been expropriated by the Jordanians.

The move is legally complex: While the land was originally confiscated by the Jordanians, Israel has since reaffirmed the Jordanians' confiscation order and stated that the land would be used for public needs such as infrastructure. This also contradicts the use intended for the land in the new plan.

I think a legal consideration would be did the Arab owners petition the Jordanian authorities contesting the confiscation?

if not, they should have no legal standing before Israel's courts.

But, of course, while I consider the Jordanian rule over Judea and Samaria between 1948-1967, termed "unification of the Kingdon in April 1950 when "West Bank" was first introduced into the political semantic terminology, if the Arabs didn't, that's their problem: "Palestinians" agreeing to be Jordanians while it suited them.

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