Israeli Arabs face red tape when leasing JNF land (Haaretz)
Nizar Bakri and his brother Qassem both bought apartments in a Carmiel building three years ago and began the process of having the property registered in their names. To their chagrin, while their Jewish neighbors had no problem completing the process in a timely fashion, their apartments have yet to be registered.
The Israel Lands Authority makes no bones about the reason. In a letter Bakri received from the ILA, the agency writes: “At issue is a minority lessee and the land on which the apartments are built belongs to the Jewish National Fund, and there is a need to implement a swap between the authorities. There has been a request to execute what was requested but it will take considerable time.”
The issue of Arabs purchasing assets on JNF land, including in Carmiel, has come up before the High Court of Justice and is the subject of a petition filed nine years ago by Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights, that is still pending.
In the state’s response to that petition, the attorney general, speaking on behalf of both the ILA and the JNF, promised that JNF lands would be marketed to all sectors of the public, irrespective of religion or ethnic background, and that lands, or apartments built on lands, belonging to the JNF that are sold to non-Jews would be transferred to state ownership, and the state would compensate the JNF with an equal amount of land.
It should be noted that Fuad and Baha Abu Raya, whose struggle to purchase a single-family home in Carmiel on JNF land led to the 2004 High Court petition, have yet to have their home registered, either. Until 2010, none of the residents of the Givat Makhosh neighborhood were able to register their homes because the land had not been properly parceled by the ILA. In August 2010, the Abu Rayas were asked to file documents pertaining to their home purchase, but have not yet been able to register the property.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.564877
