OFRA SETTLEMENT, West Bank — It reads like a standard real estate contract, but it offers a rare glimpse into the smoke screen that helps ensure a Jewish presence on lands claimed by the Palestinians.
The document shows that the World Zionist Organization, acting as an agent of the Israeli government, took private Palestinian land in the West Bank and gave it to Jews.
The affair points to a chaotic mix of a government involved in murky real estate deals.
The contract authorized Israeli couple Netzach and Esther Brodt to lease land in the settlement of Ofra. Palestinians who claim to own the land then went to the Israeli Supreme Court.
The court gave the state two weeks to explain itself, during which time the settlers hastily completed construction of the homes. Then, in another reversal, the Defense Ministry froze the demolition plan, and left the case no closer to resolution.
by the associated press
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