Jordan, PA arrest 2 Palestinians for selling Hebron house to Jews

[Behind the Aegis]

The Palestinian Authority and Jordan earlier this week arrested two Palestinians suspected of selling a house in Hebron to settlers who have been occupying it since March 19.

One of the suspects is being held in Jordan, and the other in Jericho. PA laws call for a death sentence for anyone found guilty of selling land to Jews.

Hebron's Jewish Committee condemned the arrest, saying, "The arrest exposes once again the anti-Semitic nature of the PA. We call upon the government to accept the racial hatred prevalent in the PA."

MK Uri Ariel (National Union-National Religious Party) called on the government to act for the release of the arrested Palestinians. Orit Struk of the committee said the arrest is proof the house legally belongs to the Jewish community.


more...

[Solo_in_MD]

1. Good post, many here deny this happens

[Behind the Aegis]

2. I just happen to see it and remembered a discussion here not long ago.

I seem to remember that Jordan had reversed the death penalty part (early 70's (?)), but I thought they had also rescinded the law about selling to Jews in the late 80's. I really couldn't find anything about the PA except that they had co-opted the Jordanian law.

[Violet_Crumble]

4. Deny what happens?

If yr talking about yr repeated claims in multiple threads, I for one will point out that it doesn't happen, because even after being asked several times for credible evidence to back up yr claims, you haven't come up with anything. And this is what you claimed:

'Have to wonder when the UN is going to investigate the complete denial of rights to Jews in Palestinian held territory, including not being allowed to own property and being murdered for being suspected of being a Jew.

Note I did not say Israeli, I said Jew.'

and

'I was refering to Gaza where if you sell land to a Jew you are to be killed
as well as the new owner and the land confiscated.'

[Solo_in_MD]

6. The people have been killed for selling private property to Jews

In prior posts I pointed out both the law and the box scores. Its pretty eye opening. The apologists said that was in the past and not happening any more...

In has happened, it does happen, and people are dieing over it. Yet not a peep from the UN and others.

[Violet_Crumble]

16. You've shown nothing of the sort...

All I've seen you do is make the claims I've reposted and supply nothing credible to back up those claims. The bit of law (and given the very partisan site it came from, who knows how accurate it is) you did post said nothing about Jews, and yr claim was 'Note I did not say Israeli, I said Jew'

You have not supplied any examples from credible sources of Jews being killed on suspicion of being Jews, yet you keep on insisting it happens. If something is happening, it'd be easy to give examples of what you claim happens. The fact that you haven't, even after being asked more than a few times, suggests very strongly that yr claims were a bit on the dodgy side...

[Shaktimaan]

8. I've noticed that you tend to

take issue with the specifics in people's posts by demanding comprehensive evidence for every point made, no matter how minor, in order to sidestep the meat of the post or proclaim it unfounded or innaccurate. There's no problem with this, but it would be cool if you could address your reservations without using them as a means to discredit or ignore the larger issues being discussed. This isn't a courtroom. People paraphrase and exaggerate, sometimes details are innaccurate. But there's little point in ignoring the critical claims made in favor of trying to spring your argument on a technicality. Address it, fine. But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

The main issue here, as I see it, is that the PA has not only made selling real estate to Jews illegal, but judges that the death penalty is an appropriate punishment. Some here feel that this is a bad thing.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

[pelsar]

9. actually its not hard to find the info:

Fatah's Aksa Martyrs Brigades distributed leaflets in Jerusalem on Wednesday threatening to execute Palestinians who sell their property to Jews or act as intermediaries in such deals.

"The Aksa Martyrs Brigades warn those thieves and traitors who are selling lands through Israeli real estate agents," said the leaflets, some of which were distributed on the Temple Mount.


http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1007026/posts

________

for some its easier to avoid the information as its destroys an ideal......

[breakaleg]

12. Would you prefer it if they made all land state owned and nobody got to sell it or buy it?

On the surface that may seem a little prettier, but at the heart, it's no different.

[Shaktimaan]

13. are you trying to draw a comparison to Israel?

I would have no problem with them following a system similar to Israel's. It's completely different than what the PA is doing, in Israel buying and selling real estate is essentially the same as in America. The difference is that the land is not "sold" outright but remains under the ownership of the government. It doesn't mean you have less rights as a homeowner.*

And it certainly isn't the equivalent of what the PA's policy is, as you seem to think.

*edit: Compare it to the experience of banking in the west. You put your money in a bank and the bank gives you an IOU. Then the bank takes your money and lends it to someone else to make money for themselves. So, at that point, your money is not sitting in the bank, the bank isn't "holding" your money for you. You actually loaned the bank your money. Yet you think of it as still being owned by yourself. My point is that concepts of "buying" and "ownership" are not straightforward. You can buy a house tomorrow but in reality, the mortgage company owns it, not you. And if the state wants to build a highway over your house they can just take your house away and do just that. So even in America ownership is tenuous. What's the difference if you own land or the state does if the state can always force you to give it to them (for a fixed rate, not market value!) if they need it for something?

[breakaleg]

14. I'm not saying it's equivalent. I'm saying one is no worse than the other.

The only thing I have issue with is the penalty. I can certainly understand why Palestinians would want to limit the number of Jewish land owners in the occupied territories, can't you? Much land has already been stolen, confiscated, or whatever term they want to use. And once this land is "occupied" by Israelis, then along comes the IDF to protect them, the roads, the infrastructure and suddenly, the locals can't walk down streets they used to and markets are closed. It's a nasty business that any reasonable person would object to.

[Shaktimaan]

15. But it is worse.

I understand that selling land to Jews in Hebron brings with it a serious burden that makes the issue larger than just simple "they don't want Jews living on their street." It means that the PA may no longer control the area, other residents may be put in danger, etc. Because the homebuyers are not just buying, they are settling with the ultimate plan of confiscating the land for Israel. So it isn't the same as when Arabs buy in Israel where there is an established state and no Palestinian "settlers" trying to claim the land for Palestine. So, you're right. The situation in Hebron doesn't leave them much choice as far as refusing Israelis the right to buy property. They have to if they are interested in retaining that land.

It's a fucked up problem, I agree. But the answer they've arrived at is truly hideous. Maybe they can build a fence instead? :)

Seriously, they're pretty screwed. It will be up to Israel to decide what to do, as always. They'll probably drag these settlers out of there. But if Bibi gets elected again, they wouldn't. There's no question that Palestine is losing bits of their future state the longer they continue fighting for a lost cause.

[Violet_Crumble]

17. And I've noticed that you tend to...

take issue when people ask for evidence of claims others make in this forum and go on to try to make out that the actual claim itself was *minor*...

There's nothing minor about Solo's claims that I reposted, and he very clearly claimed that the laws are against Jews and not Israelis (something you are now falsely claiming as well), and that Jews are murdered on suspicion of being Jews. Exactly how are those claims minor?????

[Violet_Crumble]

3. I'm guessing neither of them were the legal owner of the house...

I remember reading in an earlier thread that the real owner had gone to the local police armed with his title deeds to get the matter sorted, so I'm guessing that he's not the one who's been arrested. Hopefully it'll be sorted out quickly and the squatters will be evicted and also charged under Israeli law...

[pelsar]

7. why:

I'm guessing neither of them were the legal owner of the house...

what makes you prefer that version?.....any real information or just a preference on your part not to believe haartez for this particular article?

[breakaleg]

10. I'd say because they've lied about this in the past. Their credibility is shot.

[pelsar]

11. haartez? n/t

[Violet_Crumble]

18. Because the earlier article mentioned 'sellers' with fake deeds...

Or isn't the earlier Ha'aretz article considered to be 'real information'?

Also, I didn't say anything about not believing this particular article. I'm just pointing out that the earlier article on this did mention that the genuine owner had headed straight to the police with his deed to the house and to ask for assistance in getting his house returned to him. The article also mentioned that those who had 'sold' the house weren't the actual owners and had used fake deeds. This article would seem to support that earlier article....

[papau]

5. Death for a real estate sale is racist - but Hebron will always be part of PA so its an internal

matter.

Why the Israeli wanted to "gentrify" the Hebron area (the term used in the US when those with money cause a turnover of population as they move in) is beyond me - but then it is - again - an internal to the PA situation.