The Palestinian population of the 48 Territories (the present State of Israel), while it avoided transfer, has nonetheless incessantly witnessed the systematic confiscation of its lands for more than 50 years. Although Palestinian Israelis represent 20% of the population of the State of Israel today, they own no more than 3%of the land, while 93% of the country’s land has been declared “State Land.” With its Absentee Property Law (1950), the State of Israel has given itself a “legal” framework for the seizure of lands and possessions of refugees, who have not been allowed to return to their property.

Similarly, new “legal” measures, both military and civilian, have been instituted; among these have been the “arrangement of territory” law as one of the most efficient means. Thanks to this law, entire territories previously under Arab municipal administration have been integrated into the new borders of the Jewish municipalities, which limit construction on them (by control of building permits by urban planning) or reserving them for projects of “general interest.” In addition, huge areas have been declared “military zones.” One of the most pernicious methods of confiscation consists of simply not recognizing the existence of dozens of Arab villages and thus depriving them of their property and basic services (water, electricity, health services, etc.).

The steady growth of settlements in the Territories of 48 prompted strong protests that culminated in the Seventies (Land Day in 1976), and which have repeated themselves since the Oslo Accords. At Ein Mahil (Nazareth), Umm al-Fahm, and Tarshiha (a village on the Lebanese border), hundreds of hectares are in constant jeopardy. The dispossession of land and bureaucratic measures of restricting housing have, for their part, resulted in a correlating development of illegal construction.

All these measures are part of the Israeli policy code named “The Star of David” plan whose goal is to obtain a Jewish majority in regions predominantly Arab (Upper and Lower Galilee, the Triangle and the Negev). The plan also seeks to eliminate territorial contiguity between zones of Arab population. To effect this demographic change, the Trans-Israel Highway Project (Highway No. 6) presently under construction allows for the Jewish population to be more concentrated to the east, reinforcing links between the settlements on the other side of the Green Line - that is, in the West Bank. The cost for the Palestinians of Israel: one third of their lands will be confiscated!