An Israeli rights group has warned that a land registration campaign in annexed East Jerusalem shows what it described as a “deeply alarming” trend of land appropriation by Israeli authorities.
Image: Al Jazeera
Bimkom, an Israeli organisation focused on urban planning and Palestinian rights in East Jerusalem, analysed official data covering around 2.3 square kilometres — roughly three percent of East Jerusalem — where registration procedures have been completed since the process resumed in 2018.
According to the group, 82% of the surveyed land was registered under the Israeli state or the Jerusalem municipality. Another 9% was listed under “unknown owners,” which Bimkom said could eventually pave the way for state takeover.
The organisation said around 4% of the land was registered to Jewish owners, many allegedly linked to settlement groups, while another 4% belonged to churches. Only 1% was recorded under Palestinian ownership.
Bimkom warned that the registration process was effectively being used as a bureaucratic tool for taking control of Palestinian land rather than serving local Palestinian residents.
“This data clearly indicates that the renewed procedures do not serve — and were not intended to serve — the Palestinian residents of the city,” the group said.
Architect Sari Kronish of Bimkom told AFP that the process lacked transparency, particularly regarding how authorities selected areas for registration.
The NGO said many of the areas already processed overlap with land designated for settlement construction, reinforcing concerns that political motives are influencing the registration drive.
Bimkom also criticised what it described as increasingly restrictive policies toward Palestinians, arguing that proving land ownership has become extremely difficult.
Israel annexed East Jerusalem after the 1967 war, a move not recognized by much of the international community. Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state, while Israel considers the entire city its undivided capital.
