Israel Official: Gov’t Stole Palestinian Land

By Haaretz September 1, 2012

The supervisor in charge of the Defense Ministry’s separation barrier project has blamed the Ministry of Housing and Construction as well as the police for breaking the law and invading privately-owned Palestinian lands in the West Bank.

The supervisor, Col. Ofer Hindi, said that the Defense Ministry did not take the necessary steps to prevent a road from being expropriated from Palestinians.The road was originally seized for “security purposes,” but now it serves as a shortcut for residents of Agan Ha’ayalot, a new ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in the West Bank settlement of Givat Ze’ev, to Route 443.

Recently,the IDF blocked the road’s exit from Agan Ha’ayalot to Route 443, but the land has not been returned to its owners and the money that was used to finance the paving of the road will not be returned to the public. Residents of Givat Ze’ev have requested to open the intersection and place traffic signs, a traffic light and a bus station there.

For more, go to Haaretz.com

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