{"id":26280,"date":"2016-05-04T22:37:34","date_gmt":"2016-05-04T19:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/?p=26280"},"modified":"2016-05-13T12:35:36","modified_gmt":"2016-05-13T09:35:36","slug":"amana-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/amana-house","title":{"rendered":"The Amana House: A New Settlement in Shiekh Jarrah"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Israel Land Authority Expropriated Palestinian Land in East Jerusalem and Granted it to Settlers<\/strong><\/p>\n

A New Settlement is Being Built in Sheikh Jarrah by the Amana Association<\/p>\n

Construction of a huge structure referred to\u00a0as the \u201cAmana House\u201d, has recently started in Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem. The structure is intended to serve as an office building for the Amana Association – a private entity operating toward establishing and expanding settlements and responsible for many of the illegal outposts in the Territories. The structure is being built within the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, and is adjacent to St. Joseph Hospital, which serves the Palestinian population of Jerusalem and the West Bank.\"Map<\/a>Construction of the settlement is supported by a comprehensively mobilized array of governmental systems, headed by the Israel Land Authority (ILA), which in an illegal and misleading procedure, expropriated private Palestinian land and, without conducting a tender procedure, handed it over to Amana, an association that is politically and ideologically affiliated with the right-wing government.<\/p>\n

The story of the Amana House started in 1992 when the ILA decided to allocate the 3 dunams in Sheikh Jarrah to Amana for planning, based on Amana’s commitment to move their offices to Jerusalem (although in fact the offices of Amana were already in Jerusalem). The land was included in 1968 in a map of some 4,000 dunams that the Government planned to confiscate. The specific 3 dunams were never legally expropriated. In 1998, the construction plan made by Amana was approved, while the ILA is signed as the owner of the land. In 2009 the then Minister of Finance, Yuval Steinitz, signed an announcement of confiscation for public interest of a new artificial parcel, that was prepared by the ILA in order to launder the confiscation of the land for Amana. The appeal of the Palestinian owners of the land demanding to cancel the construction permit granted to Amana, is now pending in the Israeli Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

It is important to note that two of the leaders of Amana were recently questioned for allegedly taking kickbacks from a settlement development firm<\/a>. Also, the Amana movement owns the \u201cAl Watan\u201d company, subject of a police investigation on extensively fraudulent practices in land transactions in the Territories<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Peace Now: “It is not surprising that an organization like Amana, that mastered in illegal construction on stolen land, is building its new settlement in East Jerusalem on private land. The trouble is that Amana turned into an organization that has a state in its possession. The Government did the “dirty work” for Amana in order to take private Palestinian land and transfer it to the settlers, in order to establish yet another settlement that will make it harder to get to a compromise in Jerusalem”<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 1: The\u00a0<\/span>N<\/strong>ew Settlement in Sheikh Jarrah \u2013 Location and Significance<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Amana House, whose construction was recently started, is supposed to serve as the headquarters of the Amana Association, with 70 offices on four floors covering an area of approximately 3 dunams (0.75 acres) in the heart of the Palestinian Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The new settlement, does not only harm the delicate relations between Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem, but it is also intended to harm\u00a0the possibility of a two-state solution as it is being built within a Palestinian neighborhood which will be\u00a0part of the Palestinian capital in any future agreement.<\/p>\n

The story of transferring the land to Amana reveals the manner in which governmental institutions mobilize in favor of political allies while trampling upon the rights of the Palestinian landowners and violating provisions of the law and of proper management. \u00a0While the affair began over 20 years ago, the government still continues to do all that it can to defend the ILA’s illegal activities and ensure the transfer of the land to settlers, as exposed in a hearing on the petition recently filed by the owners of the land, the Abu Ta\u2019a family. The government does nothing in order to correct the distortions and illegal acts revealed and returning the land to its owners.<\/p>\n

\"\u05d4\u05ea\u05d7\u05dc\u05ea<\/a>

Starting the construction of the Amana House, February 2016<\/p><\/div>\n

    \n
  1. <\/li>\n
  2. Chapter 2: Notice of Expropriation Intention in 1968<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Following the Six-Day War, on 11 January 1968, the Minister of Finance issued two notices pursuant to Articles 5 and 7 of the Land Ordinance, announcing the intention to expropriate nearly 990 acres in East Jerusalem<\/strong>.\u00a0 In practice, the government took possession of only certain areas of the 990 acres (toward establishing Ramat Eshkol and the French Hill, the \u201cEastern Wing\u201d of the government office campus, paving Rte. 1 and more).<\/p>\n

    According to the law, government use of any part of the land requires an additional Minister of Finance signature to the notice, pursuant to Article 19 of the Land Ordinance, announcing actual expropriation<\/strong> (although for establishing the neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, the government implemented a temporary order under the Public Neighborhood Registration Law, exempting the need for such signature pursuant to Article 19).<\/p>\n

    In practice, the Amana House land was not expropriated<\/strong>.\u00a0 In 1991, as part of HCJ 5575\/91 on expropriations relating to construction plans in the seam zone, ILA Jerusalem District Manager declared that, of the land included in the 1968 expropriation notice for the seam line, only the land included in Urban City Plan no. 2989 was actually expropriated for public use.\u00a0 The rest of the land is not considered expropriated land and the expropriation notice was exhausted through UCP 2989.\u00a0 The plot belonging to the Abu Ta\u2019a family was not included in the expropriated area.<\/p>\n

    In other words, according to law and a statement by the ILA itself, the land on which Amana House is being built was private land that is not actually expropriated.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    It is important to note that, until recently, the owners of the land continued to use the land, renting it to an automobile business and using it as a large vehicle parking lot. The owners received no notice of the intention to expropriate their land nor of all of the proceedings conducted in its regard. The 1968 notice was general and provided no specification of parcels and plots, but merely stated \u201cland in Jerusalem\u201d.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. <\/li>\n
    2. Chapter 3: Tender Exemption and the Allocation for Planning <\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      On 30 August 1992 (probably in a post-election manipulation), ILA management decided to grant Amana planning permission to the land.\u00a0 The excuse for granting it a tender exemption was that \u201cthe movement will relocate its offices from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem\u201d.<\/p>\n

      Not only did the ILA not own the land at the time but the excuse for granting the exemption was false. The Amana offices, as recorded in the allocation transaction form itself, were located on 32B Ramat HaGolan St., Jerusalem:<\/p>\n

      \u00a0\"\u05e4\u05d8\u05d5\u05e8<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n

      According to the authorization agreement, Amana was required to prepare and approve a construction plan by 1 July 1993, but this did not happen (perhaps because it was the Rabin Administration that, following the \u201cKlugman Report\u201d attempted to put the ILA and its activities in East Jerusalem into order).<\/p>\n

      A new authorization agreement was signed in 1997, under Netanyahu\u2019s government, providing retroactive application to 13 September 1993 in order to maintain the validity of the tender exemption.\u00a0 These measures were all taken behind the land owners\u2019 backs, without them being able to know what was happening.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. <\/li>\n
      2. Chapter 4: The Approval of the Plan Based on a Questionable ILA Signature<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        In 1997 Amana submitted a construction plan (No. 4979) to establish a \u201cpublic institution\u201d.\u00a0 When the district committee convened to discuss the approval of the plan, the Head of the Planning Administration stated that he had reservations as to the heading of a \u201cpublic institution\u201d used for a private organization.\u00a0 Nevertheless, the plan was approved since the committee believed that it related to state-owned land. \u00a0Apparently, when Amana first submitted the plan, it stated the ILA was the owner \u00a0of the land, but did not have the ILA’s signature. The plan received preliminary approval and after it was approved for depositing, the Planning Administration noticed the missing signature and asked Amana (twice) to submit a copy signed by ILA. It was only several months later that Amana filed a copy allegedly signed by then Deputy District Planner, Amalia Abramovich, on 9 September 1998.<\/p>\n

        \"\u05d7\u05ea\u05d9\u05de\u05ea<\/a>

        A copy of the plan provisions signed by ILA\u2019s Amalia Abramovich<\/p><\/div>\n

        It is important to note that, in another instance, AP 6212-11-12, Abramovich claimed that her signature to a certain permit was forged.\u00a0 She discovered this based on the correspondence relating to her signature.\u00a0 However, in the case of Amana, as part of the petition filed by the owner of the land, the ILA refused to disclose the correspondence and even avoided submitting an affidavit from Mrs. Abramovich, still employed by the ILA, explaining the circumstances leading to her signature as owner of the land.<\/p>\n

        In addition to the signature and instead of attaching a land registration extract, Amana provided the Planning Administration with a letter from Avraham Nawi, ILA Jerusalem District Land Registration Coordinator, according to\u00a0which \u201cthe area \u2026 is included in the designated location that was expropriated in favor of the government\u201d<\/strong>.\u00a0 Nawi\u2019s ambiguous wording was intended to create a misleading pretense by which the land is owned by the government.<\/p>\n

        In 2008, when Peace Now first learned of the intention to build the Amana House, we contacted the ILA and asked why Amana received the land without a tender. The<\/strong>\u00a0ILA\u2019s response, dated 11 January 2009, stated: \u201cWe hereby inform you that the said land is not managed by the Israel Land Administration<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

        After calling to determine how the development contract between the Administration and Amana was signed, we were informed that the previous response was wrong.\u00a0 We have yet to receive an answer regarding the tender exemption.<\/p>\n


        \nChapter 5: Attempt to register the land\u00a0to the government<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

        A development agreement was signed between ILA and Amana on 12 September 2005 by which Amana must pay the ILA 913,640 NIS in utilization fees.\u00a0 Afterwards and in order to obtain construction outlines, Amana was required to prepare a PRP \u2013 Plan for Registration Purposes \u2013 in order to register the newly designated plots to the government.\u00a0 However, since it is not really government land, the Land Registrar refused to register the land to the government<\/strong> as per the PRP and Amana could not obtain a permit.<\/p>\n

        Once again, ILA\u2019s Jerusalem District Land Registration Coordinator, Avraham Nawi, came to the rescue and sent a letter of undertaking<\/a> on 26 November 2006, by which the ILA will initiate publication of a Minister of Finance notice pursuant to Article 19 of the Land Ordinance<\/strong>, comprising actual expropriation of the lot and enabling registration thereof.<\/p>\n

        The permit process continued upon this commitment to register the PRP.<\/p>\n

        Chapter 6: Minister of Finance signs the expropriation notice<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

        As stated, the problem with promoting construction was discovered when it became clear that the land cannot be registered to the government since it was not actually expropriated (pursuant to Article 19 of the Land Ordinance). \u00a0Yet, the government\u2019s expropriation of a lot belonging to a private individual with the aim of allocating it to a private entity (Amana) does not comply with the basic rules of proper management.\u00a0 Therefore, the ILA came up with a creative idea: the ILA invented a new artificial parcel<\/strong>, including the Eastern Governmental Campus, crossing a 4-lane road and including the 0.75 acres illegally allocated to Amana, located across the road.\u00a0 The parcel lacks any logic as it does not follow any natural or historical boundary of parcels in the region, and it was delineated only in order to contain the plot intended for Amana.<\/p>\n

        Minister of Finance, Yuval Steinitz, signed the expropriation of the entire parcel on 20 December 2009 and the land was registered to the government.<\/p>\n

        \"\u05d4\u05d2\u05d5\u05e9<\/a>

        The fictitious parcel created by the ILA in order to expropriate the land for Amana<\/p><\/div>\n

        The Minister of Finance is authorized to determine that the expropriation is retroactive, applying even before signing the notice pursuant to Article 19.\u00a0 In this instance, the expropriation notice states that it \u201capplies as of publishing the notice in the records\u201d.\u00a0 In other words, although the land expropriated upon the Minister of Finance\u2019s signature, it was not state-owned when it was allocated to Amana and the construction plan was approved.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        Chapter 7: Petition to cancel the plan and the construction permit<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

        Works toward constructing the Amana House began in November 2015.\u00a0 Pursuant thereto, the owners of the land, the Abu Ta\u2019a family, filed an administrative petition to the District Court in Jerusalem, demanding that the plan and the construction permit approved for Amana be revoked. In court, the government\u2019s lawyers defended the illegal expropriation and allocation of the land to Amana.\u00a0 The government avoided disclosure of the documents relating to the allocation and expropriation procedures, which could shed some light on the decision-making process and true intentions underlying ILA\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n

        The court rejected the petition on 7 March 2016, stating that even where the construction permit procedure was flawed, it is subject to relative nullity, seeing that the expropriation was eventually executed by the Minister of Finance, albeit too late. The court did not consider the fact that the expropriation was not retroactive and disregarded some of the landowner’s arguments. The landowner appealed to the Supreme Court where the file is pending a hearing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        The Israel Land Authority Expropriated Palestinian Land in East Jerusalem and Granted it to Settlers A New Settlement is Being Built in Sheikh Jarrah by the Amana Association Construction of a huge structure referred to\u00a0as the \u201cAmana House\u201d, has recently started in Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem. The structure is intended to serve as an… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":26281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2397,2515,16],"tags":[2510,1331,46,1687],"class_list":["post-26280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-jerusalem","category-lands-en","category-settlement-watch","tag-amana","tag-confiscation","tag-east-jerusalem","tag-sheikh-jarrah"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26280"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26323,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26280\/revisions\/26323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}