Israel ratchets up sales of properties of Palestinians who fled in 1948

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

JERUSALEM: Israel has stepped up sales of the properties of Palestinians who in 1948 fled or were driven out of what is now Israel, a human rights group said on Monday.


The Israel Lands Administration has carried out 80 such auctions so far in 2009, 106 in 2008 and 96 in 2007, the rights group added.

The sale of the Palestinian properties is illegal under Israeli law as the ownership of the properties was transferred to the Custodian of Absentee Properties until a political solution is reached to the refugee issue.


The Israeli human rights group also plans to appeal to the Israeli supreme court over the issue.

Some 760,000 Palestinians either fled or were driven out of their homes when the state of Israel was created in 1948 and today the refugees and their descendants number some 4.6 million people scattered across the Middle East and around the world. - AFP


[link to www.dailystar.com.lb]