Al-Makhrur: who is the land thief?
If what I am reading in the court protocols from 2014 to the present day provides the true story, we have here an amazing fairy tale put forth by a stubborn and dedicated liar who refuses to let the truth get in his way. And sharing in his delusional disorder are Jewish leftist activists who do not let even the last court verdict sway them. But don’t just believe me — I provide links to the court documents (Hebrew) and you can read them yourselves.
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Almost every day, the Israeli NGOs, Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR) and Combatants for Peace (CfP), are out there demonstrating, backing the claims of Ramzi Qasiyeh and his wife. In an email to supporters, CfP writes:
As you read this, a Palestinian family in the West Bank, in Beit Jala, is facing violent settler land theft as Israeli soldiers back the settlers. CfP activists are on the ground, putting their bodies on the line to stop this injustice. [emphasis in the original]
And:
This Palestinian family holds a deep connection to their land and its necessity for their livelihood. In 2012, they built a home and restaurant on their property. However, in 2019, the Israeli army arbitrarily demolished both. In 2023, settlers challenged the family’s ownership and the family overcame them by obtaining their land deed through the Israeli court. The family has remained steadfast since and continues to farm their fields.
In court, Qasiyeh claims that he inherited the plot from his father who bought it from its former owners.
Let us unpack this:
- In 2005, Ramzi Qasiyeh got a stop-work order from the Israeli Civil Administration (המנכל האזרחי – haminhal ha’ezrahi or Haminhal) regarding illegal construction on the land.
- By 2012, Qasiyeh had built a home and a restaurant he called al-Makhrur after the valley in which the land is situated. He challenged a new demolition order in Israel’s Supreme Court (SC) in 2014 (case 5874/14) and his petition was rejected. In other words, he lost.
- That did not stop him from rebuilding without even requesting a permit (the restaurant was last reviewed on Tripadvisor in 2019). In fact, Qasiyeh had petitioned the SC in 2016 and 2018 to vacate subsequent demolition orders (cases 6667/16 and 2088/18) and both petitions were rejected. Therefore, the demolition in 2019 was not arbitrary, as CfP writes in their email.
- The judgments to demolish were based on evidence that the land was privately owned by Hemnutah and reversing this requires going to the lower court, Therefore, Qasiyeh filed a suit in the Jerusalem court (not settlers as CfP says), saying that he had inherited the land and it was his.
- In May 2023, the final judgment came down (63103-07-19 ת”א ). It clearly stated that the property claimed by Qasiyeh is not owned by Qasiyeh and he is forbidden from even entering the plot. One year later, illegal construction was again found and it was taken down on July 30, 2024.
I read the court protocol in which Qasiyeh’s claim to land ownership was decided. He did not submit a bill of sale transferring the land from the previous owner to his father or a will bequeathing the land to him. The document Qasiyeh put into evidence to support his claim of ownership was, in fact, simply a document saying he paid taxes. Here it is held up proudly in campaign photos such as this CfP “X” post as if it proves ownership.
Yesterday 8.8 in al-Makhrour with the Kisiya family, nonviolently demonstrating to reclaim their land from the settlers. pic.twitter.com/IjLOGzblmk
— Combatants for Peace (@cfpeace) August 9, 2024
The NGOs claim this is a deed for the property even after the court decided this is not proof of anything other than paying taxes. Perhaps it can be compared to someone saying that because they paid arnona (municipal taxes) on a rental property they own it.
On the other hand, Hemnutah (a subsidiary of the Jewish National Fund aka Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael) did provide proof of officially having registered their ownership of the property in 1969.
Hemnutah won their countersuit against Qasiyeh and the latter has to pay the former rental fees of NIS 18,000 for having used the land since 2012 plus NIS 20,000 in court costs.
An absurdity in the campaign
In a post entitled, URGENT: UNITED FRONT TO RECLAIM STOLEN LAND, RHR wrote on Facebook:
On August 5, we discovered that the military’s justification for enforcing the eviction is based on a civil administration order that is not related to the Kisiya family’s plot in Al-Makhrour. The order actually applies to another area entirely—Wadi Heletz. Accordingly, the eviction of the Kisiya family and the forceful actions taken by the army against them and against activists offering support are illegal. [emphasis added]
Maybe someone should tell them that Wadi Makhrur and Wadi Heletz are one and the same. Middle East botany expert, Prof. Avi Shmida wrote: “Suddenly, after 2000 years, during which the river valley was called Wadi Heletz, it became ‘Wadi Makhrur’.”
Neither RHR nor CfP have responded to requests to support their belief that the land actually belongs to Ramzi Qasiyeh and why the court decision that it belongs to Hemnutah is wrong.
