Ministry of Justice alters process for proving land ownership in East Jerusalem
Date
12/24/2024 5:41:47 AM
(MENAFN) Two years ago, under pressure from right-wing factions, the Ministry of Justice altered the process for proving land ownership in East Jerusalem, a change that significantly affected Palestinian construction. Since then, the number of construction plans approved in the area has dropped drastically from an average of 100 to zero per year. Despite a fivefold increase in the Arab population of Jerusalem since 1967, Israel has not built new neighborhoods for Palestinians and has seldom prepared general building plans for them, unlike for Jewish neighborhoods. As a result, Palestinians who wished to build legally had to submit special building plans. However, they encountered an obstacle in proving ownership due to the lack of land registration following the city's unification. To address this, the Mukhtar Procedure was created, where a local mukhtar (village leader) would certify land ownership with their signature. If ownership was later proven false, landowners were required to compensate the rightful owners. This process facilitated the development of thousands of housing units over the years.
Recently, right-wing activists criticized the Mukhtar Procedure, claiming it enabled corruption, citing instances where some mukhtars signed documents in exchange for bribes. In response, the planning director published a new procedure in September 2022, which requires landowners to provide tax receipts and proof of ownership before opening a planning file. These files are then sent for approval to six Israeli authorities, including the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israel Land Authority. According to local planners, the new procedure has made opening a planning file almost impossible. Nabil al-Rajabi, an engineering and planning office owner, stated that since the change, he has been unable to open any new files, as authorities fail to respond or claim lack of manpower. Even when approval is granted, the process takes up to nine months, with more rigid demands. Data from organizations such as Bimkom and Ir Amim show that before the new policy, almost 100 planning and construction files were opened each year. With the new procedure in place, residents are likely to continue building illegally, despite the risk of demolition. Although the government announced plans to approve 10,000 housing units for Palestinians by 2028 to address the housing shortage, this new procedure seems to eliminate any hope of fulfilling this goal.
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