- Title: WEST BANK-LAND TAX Israeli settlement claims land tax from Palestinian man
- Date: 28th January 2015
- Summary: HEBRON, WEST BANK (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENT OF KIRYAT ARBA HOUSE OF PALESTINIAN MAN, ABD EL-KARIM JA'ABARI JA'ABARI WALKING AWAY FROM HOUSE VARIOUS OF CHILDREN PLAYING NEAR HOUSE ISRAELI SETTLEMENT AS SEEN FROM JA'ABARI'S HOUSE/ VEHICLES PASSING THROUGH CHECKPOINT GATE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN HOUSE OWNER, ABD EL-KARIM JA'ABARI, SAYING: "I went to the governor, the governor was shocked. I also went to the Hebron municipality who said this is ridiculous. These are our lands, my land is located within the boundaries of the Hebron Municipality. The Hebron municipality said they will follow-up on this case because electricity and water - all of it, we get from them." SETTLEMENT SEEN FROM JA'ABARI'S HOUSE VARIOUS OF JA'ABARI SHOWING TAX DOCUMENTS VARIOUS OF JA'ABARI SPEAKING TO COORDINATOR OF PALESTINIAN ORGANISATION OF YOUTH AGAINST SETTLEMENTS, ISSA AMRO (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) COORDINATOR OF PALESTINIAN ORGANISATION YOUTH AGAINST SETTLEMENTS, ISSA AMRO, SAYING: "This move of trying to force some Palestinian families to pay municipal taxes to the occupiers is considered to be a clear violation of - firstly - Israeli law and secondly, of international law." HOUSE AND SETTLEMENT FENCE SURROUNDING THE SETTLEMENT VEHICLES CROSSING GATE OF SETTLEMENT STAR OF DAVID EXTERIOR OF HEBRON GOVERNORATE PALESTINIAN FLAGS GOVERNOR OF HEBRON, KAMEL HMEID, IN OFFICE PHOTOS OF PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS AND LATE PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT YASSER ARAFAT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GOVERNOR OF HEBRON, KAMEL HMEID, SAYING: "First of all there is nothing called Kiryat Arba Municipality, and their claim is not a legal one. The action that they took, against the citizen al-Ja'abari, was to put pressure on him to retract the case he has raised against the settlers to get back his land and be able to move within and use this land which the settlers took. Therefore, this procedure is an illegal one; it is a political one that is designed to pressurise the citizen. We refuse this procedure, because we are talking about a resident from the West Bank." VEHICLES DRIVING ALONG SETTLEMENT STREET
- Embargoed: 12th February 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: West bank
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA36A4B51P6EK6XIA317YTA313V
- Story Text: The local council of the Kiryat Arba settlement in the West Bank has ordered a Palestinian man from Hebron to pay Israeli land tax on a house they say is illegally built.
Abd el-Karim Ja'abari was confused when he received a land tax bill for 88,200 Israeli Shekels (22,130 U.S. Dollars) to be paid to municipal council of the Israeli Kiryat Arba settlement near Hebron in the West Bank. Ja'abari says the land he built his house on is Palestinian and his water and electricity are supplied by the Palestinian-run Hebron municipality.
"I went to the governor, the governor was shocked. I also went to the Hebron municipality who said this is ridiculous. These are our lands, my land is located within the boundaries of the Hebron Municipality. The Hebron municipality said they will follow-up on this case because electricity and water - all of it, we get from them," said Ja'abari.
Ja'abari says Israeli settlers took over his land in 2001 and set up a synagogue in a tent there. He has filed a lawsuit against them.
"This move of trying to force some Palestinian families to pay municipal taxes to the occupiers is considered to be a clear violation of - firstly - Israeli law and secondly, of international law," said Issa Amro, coordinator of Palestinian organisation of Youth Against Settlements, which is based in Hebron.
When contacted by Reuters, Kiryat Arba municipal council said in a written statement that Ja'abari built his house illegally and without permits in the jurisdiction area of the settlement. They stated that land tax, or Arnona, should be paid by the person holding the land, like any other resident under the jurisdiction of the council.
Governor of Hebron, Kamel Hmeid, says Kiryat Arba is an illegal settlement.
"First of all there is nothing called Kiryat Arba Municipality, and their claim is not a legal one. The action that they took, against the citizen al-Ja'abari, was to put pressure on him to retract the case he has raised against the settlers to get back his land and be able to move within and use this land which the settlers took. Therefore, this procedure is an illegal one; it is a political one that is designed to pressurise the citizen. We refuse this procedure, because we are talking about a resident from the West Bank," said Hmeid.
In a recent statement, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA) said planning policies applied by Israel in Area "C" and East Jerusalem discriminate against Palestinians, making it extremely difficult for them to obtain building permits. As a result, many Palestinians build without permits to meet their housing needs and risk having their structures demolished. OCHA stated Palestinians must have the opportunity to participate in a fair and equitable planning system that ensures their needs are met.
Some 7,200 Jewish settlers live in Kiryat Arba, the nearest Israeli settlement to the Palestinian city of Hebron in the West Bank. Some 500,000 Israelis live among 2.4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territory that the Jewish state captured in the 1967 Middle East war and Palestinians seek for a state.
Israel has come under intense international criticism over its settlement activities, which are illegal under international law and considered by many countries a major obstacle to the creation of a viable Palestinian state in any future peace deal. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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