Traditionally if you claim land as yours, you must prove it. CJ Beinisch turned this on its head and held that all land not specifically identified as state land would be considered “private Palestinian land”. Thus the burden of proof was reversed. To stay in the house, settlers must prove its not private Palestinian land rather than a specific Palestinians having had to prove he owns it. In effect Beinisch held that if the land wasn’t state land it must be set aside for the Palestinians without need to prove ownership. Thus they have collective ownership. This action by the settlers is to prove no Palestinian has the evidence to prove ownership. Ted Belman
Following High Court decision to evacuate illegal outpost based on private Palestinian ownership of the land, residents launch campaign “to prove this injustice” • Migron residents maintain that land on which outpost was built in 1999 belonged to no one.
ISRAEL HAYOM
Residents of the illegal outpost of Migron on Monday offered a million-shekel reward (about $261,000) to anyone who proves ownership of the lands on which the outpost was built. The campaign aims to prove that the lands are not privately owned by Palestinians, as has been claimed.
Migron, which houses some 50 families, has been evacuated and subsequently repopulated several times since its establishment in 1999. The High Court of Justice recently instructed the state to once again evacuate the outpost by the end of March.
Peace Now, the organization that petitioned the High Court for the outpost to be evacuated, maintains that Migron was built on privately owned Palestinian land. Five years after the petition was submitted, the High Court ruled in favor of Peace Now and ordered the evacuation.
But the residents of Migron, the largest illegal outpost in Judea and Samaria, wrote in a letter: “Peace Now has tried to locate Palestinians who claim that the land in Migron belongs to them, but could not find a shred of evidence. In efforts to prove this injustice, we are offering a million shekels to anyone who can prove ownership of the land on which this community was built. This is not reality TV — this is our life.”
The Israeli Walla news website quoted Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer as saying, “This silly gimmick by residents of Migron also proves that they themselves have no ownership of the land.”
“The residents of Migron are welcome to visit the Civil Administration and see for themselves who owns the land — and save a million shekels,” he said.
Beinisch’s ruling is outrageous and the Knesset must pass legilation or enforce legislation to impeach her. A judge cannot allocate land to people, that is a state function and where there is no title, then the land cannot be anything other than state land. The point that seems to be missed is that if Beinisch can declare any land that is not specifically state land to be private “Palestinian” land, even if there are no Arab title holders to such land, then the PA or Hamas can claim those ownerless lands declared be Beinisch to be “private Palestinian land” as state land belonging to “Palestine”. Beinisch is acting treasonably in aiding and enemy and seditiously in trying to by-pass UNSC 242’s demand for negotiating borders, which naturally refer to land over which a state has control.