Despite court ruling, Israeli military takes Arab land for train line

Haaretz- Former Civil Administration head, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, signed an order expropriating 50 dunams from a West Bank village for the rail line connecting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, just two days before stepping down from his post on November 3.

According to the document, Mordechai was convinced the expropriation was done for public good and that the user of the land would be in a position to compensate the property owners.

...The fact that the rail line connecting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv will pass through the West Bank is causing legal problems. An in-house opinion at the Justice Ministry does not permit the expropriation of land in the West Bank for the benefit of settlers or of Israel without it also benefiting the local population.

Usage of the sewage treatment plant in the settlement of Ofra, for example, which was built on private Palestinian land, was banned by the Supreme Court banned. The Civil Administration is required to link the sewage system up to the nearby Palestinian villages, which refuse to cooperate. As such, the installation remains unused. Read more