Israel Matzav

Common sense to prevail? Likud MK's propose compensating landowners instead of demolishing homes

Likud MK's, including Netanyahu ally Limor Livnat (pictured), are proposing that the government compensate landowners in cases where Jewish homes are found to have been built on private 'Palestinian' property rather than demolishing the homes. As you might imagine, this has 'human rights' groups up in arms.

At the Likud ministerial committee on Sunday, the Minister of Culture and Sports Limor Livnat proposed the creation of a committee of independent, professional experts to examine alternative options that would avoid demolitions and allow for the authorization of such homes.

“Our job is not to be bulldozers and to destroy,” she said.

Livnat said she had calculated that possibly as many as 160 homes could be removed, and that this was unacceptable.

The families that live there are law-abiding, she said. “It can’t be that the homes of some 1,000 people will be destroyed and that they will find themselves without a roof over their heads,” Livnat added.

In particular, Livnat focused on the Ulpana neighborhood of Beit El, which she said was created 15-years ago with initial government support and grants. But the two other high risk places are the Migron and Givat Assaf outposts.

Livnat said that it was not clear that land which was designated by the state as private Palestinian property truly deserved that designation and that this needed to be checked by a committee of experts.

In some cases, no one has claimed the land and in other cases, ownership cannot be documented, she said. In cases where Palestinian ownership has been proved, it is possible to grant compensation rather than returning the property, she said.

Since Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took office in 2009, the state has spoken of authorizing illegal construction on state land, but has firmly stated that it intends to demolish such Jewish building on private Palestinian property.

Still, according to Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein who supported Livnat’s proposition, the prime minister appeared receptive to her words.

According to Livnat’s office government secretary Tzvi Hauser has been tasked with exploring the issue.

But MK Yariv Levin (Likud) is not waiting for the government. He is already working on a bill that would offer an alternative to home demolitions on private Palestinian land by offering, instead, compensation to the Palestinian owners.

“The current situation in Judea and Samaria is intolerable,” Levin said on Sunday. “The judiciary is being used as a tool to promote the extreme left’s political goals, such as harming settlers.”

Levin said “We cannot accept a policy in which we don’t build, illegal Arab construction is not dealt with, and Jewish homes are destroyed.”

“The Prime Minister does not have a mandate from the public or Likud MKs for this behavior,” he added.

I've been arguing for years that these cases ought to be treated as eminent domain cases. Maybe now it will finally happen.

Labels: eminent domain, home demolitions, Migron, outposts

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:59 AM