Arab villagers in Samaria are preparing to farm a piece of land that for many years has been cultivated by an Israeli. Meanwhile, the Israeli citizens in the Samaria-based community of Shiloh are threatening to prevent the Palestinian tractors from entering with their own bodies.
According to the Israelis, the Palestinian Authority resident did not prove his ownership of the land. The community of Shiloh defines the plot that is at the center of the dispute as "strategic", and claim that it is a problematic precedent.
The plot in question is located between Shiloh and the main highway in Judea and Samaria Route 60 and had been cultivated for decades by Moshe Moskowitz. Several years ago, Palestinians from the village of Kiryot, near Shiloh, petitioned the Magistrate's Court, claiming that they have an affinity for the area. According to reports, both the Palestinians and Moskowitz failed to prove their ownership of the land.
The affair then unfolded before the Supreme Court, where the state announced that it would allow the Palestinians to cultivate the plot. In accordance with the decision, a few months ago Moskowitz vacated the area on his own initiative, and the Palestinian intends to start cultivating the land immediately, land that an Israeli had already developed for about 20 years.
Rift In Netanyahu Coalition After Civil Administration Uproots Shilo Orchard https://t.co/DB2NuESZuL
— Yid Info (@YidInfoOfficial) February 15, 2023
Sources from the different Israeli organizations who encourage the settlement of Judea and Samaria define the plot as strategic and say that this is the first time that a precedent has occurred in which a Palestinian does not prove his ownership of agricultural land that has already been cultivated and is an active farm, and yet he was allowed to take control of it.
According to reports from “Israel Hayom”, the issue was also brought up in a conversation between the heads of the councils in Judea and Samaria with Prime Minister Netanyahu, but no solution to the issue was found. The head of the Benjamin council, Israel Gantz spoke with reporters on the peculiar case. "It will not come up In the opinion that the State of Israel has different laws for Israelis and Arabs, that a Jew leaves the land on the grounds that he did not prove ownership and an Arab enters the territory even though he also did not prove ownership."
Could Wednesday morning’s demolition of a Jewish-owned orchard in Samaria, near Shilo, which pitted coalition members against the defense minister, indicate a brewing crisis?https://t.co/gXWvGt3tQq
— World Israel News (@worldisraelnews) February 15, 2023
The lawyer for the Palestinian individual, Kemer Misharki, insists that the land in question is private and Palestinian-owned. "It's a disgrace. The Palestinians entered their land after many years of legal proceedings, and now the settlers are trying to prevent it. In court, it was clearly stated that Moskowitz illegally entered the land, and the Palestinians were recognized as the owners of the land."
