Palestinian Absentees Real Estate under the Israeli Absentees Property Law of 1950 and its Amendments
Lawyer Dr. Hussain Ahid Eisah
Assistant Professor of Civil Law – College of Law and Public Administration – University of Birzeit – Palestine
Abstract:
The research is based on analysis of the Absentees Property Law issued by Israeli Knesset in 1950, to legitimize the control of Israeli occupation over the properties of the Palestinian refugees and displaced Palestinian. This law is one of the illegal legislations that the Israeli occupation has resorted to in order to control the land.
The importance of the research lies in its attempt to consolidate the law and clarify the declared and hidden objective of it, as well as how this law formed the optimal way through which the Israeli occupation controlled most of the absentee properties, both in the lands of Palestine in 1948 and the lands of 1967.
The problem of this research is evident in the effect of the law regarding the identification of owners upon its application, as well as the effect of the absentee’s return to Palestine. Will his properties be returned to him under this law? The problem also arises in the scope and legitimacy of application, especially after the presence of the Palestinian Authority in 1994.
The aim of the research is to shed light on the law and its amendments in terms of its objectives and legitimacy, as well as to clarify the scope of its application and the powers of the Absentee Property Guard, which is authorized by law to manage these properties. In order to achieve the aims of this research, we followed the historical and descriptive approaches.
The research concludes with a number of results, the most important of which is that the Absentees Property Law is one of the strangest laws in the world since the legislator is the reason behind this forced exile. The research also concludes with a number of recommendations such as the need to take legal steps at the international level to hold the occupation government accountable for the results of this law.
Keywords: Development Authority, Absentee Property Guard, Palestinian Refugees, displaced Palestinian.