organization:israel land authority

Demolitions of Unauthorized Bedouin Buildings on the Rise

Increasingly, however, the Bedouin raze the buildings themselves to avoid paying the state the cost of tearing them down

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The number of illegal buildings demolished in Bedouin communities has tripled over the past five years. In 2013, when the government first began keeping records, 697 buildings were demolished. By last year, the figure had reached an all-time high of 2,326. Of these, 2,064 were demolished by the owners themselves to avoid the fines the state imposes if it has to tear a building down.

An analysis of the data shows that over the past three years, the number of demolitions has grown steadily, but the number of demolitions carried out by the state has actually been shrinking. Last year, for instance, the state tore down just 262 buildings, while owners razed 2,064. In 2016, the government demolished 641 buildings while owners razed 1,579.

Many Bedouin in the Negev live in communities that have been established without any government permission, in which case any construction on the site is deemed illegal. The state issues demolition orders against construction built without a permit, but not all of it is in unrecognized villages. Some is in legally recognized Bedouin communities. In addition to homes, the government data show that demolition orders have been issued against a range of other structures, including orchards, animal pens and fences.

For the state, having the owners demolish the structures themselves is preferable for two reasons. It not only spares the government the cost of carrying it out. It also avoids the possibility of clashes between the police and the Bedouin population in the course of the demolition.

As a result, government inspectors routinely warn owners that they can be sued for demolition costs if they don’t tear down illegal structures. In a press release several years ago, the Israel Land Authority, which manages much of the country’s land, acknowledged the effectiveness of the approach. As a practical matter, the state rarely sues to recover demolition costs, but the fact that it has authority to do so is often enough to coax building owners to demolish the buildings themselves.

Attiya al-Assam, who heads of the Council of Unrecognized Villages in the Negev, said his organization attempts to discourage owners from razing illegal buildings on their own, because, as he put it, if they do so, “it appears as if the state isn’t doing anything, but when the state does the demolition, everyone sees it.” Nevertheless, he said, people often succumb to the threat of lawsuits, out of a sense that “they can’t stand up to the state.”

Sabah Abu Lakima of the Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj in the Negev recently demolished the home of a relative on her behalf, a woman who lives alone. As he described it, “we were afraid of arrests, of criminal proceedings,” in addition to being sued for demolition costs. “It’s a kind of pressure tactic that makes people demolish by themselves, so [the state] won’t send in bulldozers and then you would have to pay for it,” he said. The woman has now moved in with other relatives, he added.

The demolitions are part of a broader battle over the state’s efforts to relocate Negev Bedouin to urban Bedouin towns. Many Bedouin want to remain in their rural villages, a considerable portion of which are unauthorized.

▻https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-demolitions-of-unauthorized-bedouin-buildings-on-the-rise-1.691991
#bédouins #Néguev #destruction #Israël #Palestine

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En 2013...
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Netanyahu expected to appoint ministers in coming week - National - Israel News | Haaretz
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Far-reaching demands by the Kulanu and Habayit Hayehudi parties had stymied talks before the Passover break, with one Likud MK saying, “Netanyahu will have to take meaningful decisions regarding ministerial appointments at the beginning of next week, or else the negotiations won’t go anywhere.”

Netanyahu presumably would prefer to wait for the negotiations with Kulanu and Habayit Hayehudi to gel, in order to sign a coalition agreement with all the partners in the incoming government at the same time, rather than going ahead and closing the deal with the parties with which understandings have been reached on most substantive issues – namely, Shas, United Torah Judaism and Yisrael Beiteinu.

Last Thursday, Netanyahu held a meeting with senior figures in his party over the coalition negotiations. The discussion centered around the demands of Kulanu and Habayit Hayehudi. Likud’s position is that the parties headed by Moshe Kahlon and Naftali Bennett, respectively, are holding firm because they believe Netanyahu cannot form a coalition without them.

Kulanu and Habayit Hayehudi would appear to be correct in their assessment. Despite loud pronouncements about the possibility of turning to other potential coalition partners, Likud has made it clear that it has no intention of approaching Zionist Union about forming a unity government. One Likud lawmaker said any such claims were a red herring that was part of the negotiating strategy.

Netanyahu met with Shas chairman Arye Dery last Thursday in an attempt to solve one of the key obstacles to the coalition – the demand by both Shas and Kulanu for authority over the state’s planning and zoning agencies.

While Dery is expected to serve as interior minister, Kahlon is demanding the transfer of the Israel Land Authority from the Interior Ministry into the hands of his party.

Likud sources said that since MK Yitzhak Cohen (Shas) is expected to be named deputy finance minister, the ILA could be moved without upsetting either Shas or Kulanu.

Estimates are that Kahlon’s demands for ministerial portfolios in the coalition negotiations will not derail the finalizing of an agreement with him, and that he is ultimately likely to receive the finance, housing and environmental protection ministries as he demands.

Sources within Kulanu have recently mentioned the party’s No. 2, MK Yoav Galant, as a surefire candidate for a cabinet position, and No. 3, Eli Alaluf, or Kahlon crony and former Bezeq CEO Avi Gabay (who was not a Knesset candidate) as possible candidates for the party’s third cabinet spot.

Beyond the issue of the Israel Land Authority, there are a number of outstanding disagreements between the various parties that are making the finalizing of the coalition agreement difficult.

For example, there is a great deal of daylight between the positions of Habayit Hayehudi and Yisrael Beiteinu on the issue of abolishing reforms to the Jewish conversion process. Likud is not a party to this dispute.

Meanwhile, Likud has yet to rule on the demands by both Shas and Habayit Hayehudi for the Religious Affairs Ministry, and those of both Habayit Hayehudi and Yisrael Beiteinu for the Foreign Ministry. Likud figures say the latter portfolio will remain with Yisrael Beiteinu, but Habayit Hayehudi still insists that its chairman, Naftali Bennett, must be the next foreign minister.

The issue of who heads the powerful Knesset Finance Committee has also not been resolved, but sources in Likud said they expected that Kahlon will eventually agree that MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) should retain the position.

Members of both the Habayit Hayehudi and Kulanu negotiating teams agreed that the ball is in Netanyahu’s court. “We have submitted most of our demands, and the Likud team said they’d give us an answer soon. We’re waiting,” said one negotiator.

Netanyahu and Likud received an initial 28 days to form a coalition, with that deadline set to expire on April 22.

Deadlines and red lines: Why are IDF attacks against Palestinian journalists on the rise?
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If Saleh’s injury was only a single case, so be it. But as Palestinian journalists have noticed, in recent years there has been a steady increase in Israeli violence directed toward them. Every month, MADA – the Palestinian Center for Development & Media Freedoms documents the injuries to journalists at the hands of the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli authorities. It divides the injuries – which it calls violations of press freedom – into a number of categories: Physical attacks (beatings and, occasionally, shootings); detention and arrest (for example, of those posting on Facebook); prevention of coverage; entering the workplace or the home; confiscating materials; obstruction; threats; interrogations; and prevention of travel.

(...)

Why do soldiers harm the freedom of Palestinian journalists to work? The answer is simple and does not need any learned casuistry: The role of the IDF is to safeguard the freedom of the settlers to prosper. Therefore, its role is to repress the popular Palestinian demonstrations against the settlements. The role of the IDF is to scare and deter the demonstrators, and to scare and deter those covering the demonstrations. Why is the number of physical attacks on the rise? Because the Palestinian journalists are slow in understanding. They have yet to get the message that they are forbidden to cover the protests.

Along with reports of suspicions of #corruption in the #Israel Land Authority, I mentioned here a month ago the story of the lands of Qa’oun in the northern Jordan Valley. Thirty years ago, the ILA transferred private land of the residents of the West Bank villages of Bardala and Tubas to Kibbutz Merav, of the Religious Kibbutz Movement. The Israel Land Authority (formerly Administration) – an institution that has no authority over Palestinian lands captured in 1967 – already recognized its mistake three years ago. But the land was not returned to its legal owners and the kibbutz continues to farm the land, as one of those responsible from Merav confirmed to Haaretz. For technical reasons, the response of the ILA was not published then. Here it is in its entirety:

“The Israel Land Authority acted to correct the mistake once it became known. A number of meetings were held with the kibbutz, and the authority told it that the areas must be vacated immediately. Some of the cultivated areas were included in the framework of the kibbutz’s permanent allotment, and some were held through the power of a seasonal lease. Regarding the seasonally leased areas, the contract with the kibbutz was not renewed. As for the allotment, the areas were removed from the allotment. Today, negotiations are being held with the kibbutz for setting the level of compensation it will receive in return for vacating the areas. Upon its completion, the lands will be returned to their owners.”

#vol #colonisation #crimes #journalisme #impunité

Retour à Irqit :

PHOTOS: On Easter, Palestinians resurrect their destroyed village | +972 Magazine
▻http://972mag.com/photos-on-easter-palestinians-resurrect-their-destroyed-village/89933

The Palestinian village of Irqit was depopulated in the 1948 war and then almost entirely razed. Now new generations of its original residents are trying to resurrect the town and realize a decades-old High Court ruling recognizing their right to return.

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