The High Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by Palestinian villagers against Israel’s confiscation of 25 acres (a tenth of a square kilometer) to build a West Bank road.
The court said the villagers of al-Nabi Ilyas had failed to prove ownership of the land.
The court said that the road, near the settlement of Alfei Menashe, would benefit Palestinians as well as Israelis.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories
Free Sign Up
It added that if the Palestinians could prove ownership even after confiscation, they would be eligible for compensation, the Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported.
Construction of the road is due to start in January.
A bulldozer levels land for a construction project in the West Bank, as Israeli soldiers look on. (YouTube screenshot)
The Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem, a Palestinian nonprofit organization researching environmental, agricultural, and water issues, said nearly 44 per cent of land available to the village had been confiscated in the past to build the Alfei Menashe settlement, which is located nearby on the seam between Israel and the West Bank.
Plans to run a section of Israel’s security barrier through the area would also isolate the village from “agricultural lands and open spaces which were previously considered the only chance for the village residents to build and expand in the future,” the organization said.
In January 2015, the government published tenders to build an additional 78 homes in Alfei Menashe.
I'm proud to work at The Times of Israel
I’ll tell you the truth: Life here in Israel isn’t always easy. But it's full of beauty and meaning.
I'm proud to work at The Times of Israel alongside colleagues who pour their hearts into their work day in, day out, to capture the complexity of this extraordinary place.
I believe our reporting sets an important tone of honesty and decency that's essential to understand what's really happening in Israel. It takes a lot of time, commitment and hard work from our team to get this right.
Your support, through membership in The Times of Israel Community, enables us to continue our work. Would you join our Community today?
Thank you,
Sarah Tuttle Singer, New Media Editor
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You’re serious. We appreciate that!
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we come to work every day - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
comments