Source: Middle East Eye
Security & Justice
Lebanon’s Border Villages Face Renewed Devastation Amid Israeli Withdrawal
The Israeli army withdrew from the southern Lebanese village of Bani Hayyan on Friday morning, two days after entering the area in the Marjayoun district. According to local reports, Israeli forces demolished multiple homes as they retreated.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Interview Set to Shed Light on Mossad’s Decade-Long Covert Operation Against Hezbollah
In a highly anticipated episode of CBS’s 60 Minutes, recently retired Mossad agents provide unprecedented insights into a decade-long covert operation targeting Hezbollah. The agents, whose identities remain concealed with masks and altered voices, share with journalist Lesley Stahl the intricate details of their mission to sabotage Hezbollah’s communications network.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Opinion
Lebanon After the Assads
The United States has important equities in Lebanon, including a desire for a generally friendly government’s economic and political stability; security cooperation; long-standing relations with the large Christian community in Lebanon and Lebanese diaspora in the United States; and ultimately peace between Israel and Lebanon within a broader regional settlement. Achieving these objectives will require navigating a tumultuous period in the country’s history following a war between Hezbollah and Israel that has devastated a large part of the country, exacerbating Lebanon’s already challenging economic conditions. But perhaps the most important dynamic will be how a likely Sunni-dominated state of uncertain composition in Syria will differ in its intentions toward Lebanon from the previous Alawite-led minoritarian Assad regime.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Europe’s Syrian Dilemma
The news of the sudden and unexpected demise of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has met a mixed response in Europe. The jubilation that a murderous dictator and close ally of Russia and Iran has fallen is not just good for the Syrian people but serves as a morale booster for Eastern Europeans wondering whether Russia can be defeated
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo Unveils New Private Jet Worth $73 Million
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the richest global athletes, has unveiled his upgraded private jet reportedly worth $73 million. With its top-notch design, exceptional speed and range of 7500 nautical miles, the Gulfstream G650 is among the fastest jets in the world.
Monday, December 16, 2024
Guardiola Accepts Man City May Need to Sign More Players to Cope with Schedule
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes he will need a bigger squad to handle soccer’s ever-expanding fixture schedule.
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Monday 11 July 2022 16:13:32
US Embassy in Jerusalem to be Built on Palestinian Land Seized by Israel in 1948
The new permanent US embassy in Jerusalem will be built on private Palestinian property confiscated by Israel after 1948, according to newly revealed archival records.
In February 2021, the US State Department and the Israel Land Authority jointly submitted plans for a US diplomatic compound in the Allenby Complex near Hebron Road in southern Jerusalem.
It followed the highly controversial decision by former US President Donald Trump to unilaterally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and move the American embassy from Tel Aviv in May 2018.
The compound is currently situated on a temporary site in Jerusalem’s Arnona neighborhood.
Archives published on Sunday by US-based advocacy group Adalah reveal that the site of the new permanent complex was owned by Palestinians before 1948.
Detailed historical contract agreements show that the Habib, Qleibo, Khalidi, Razzaq, and Khalili families were among the original landlords.
The families temporarily leased their properties to British Mandate authorities, who established the Allenby Barracks military base on the site.
The documents show that Mandate authorities paid the Palestinian owners 30 pounds per dunam each year for the land.
US 'infringing property rights'
Following the Nakba (catastrophe) in 1948 - which left an estimated 15,000 Palestinians dead and some 750,000 displaced - the owners of the Allenby complex became refugees and their land was confiscated by Israeli authorities using the 1950 Israeli Absentees’ Property Law.
The law has been cited by rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as a major tool utilized by Israeli authorities to subjugate Palestinians and enforce an apartheid system.
Among the descendants of the original owners are Palestinians living in East Jerusalem and US citizens, including renowned Palestinian-American historian and professor, Rashid Khalidi.
“The fact that the US government is now participating actively with the Israeli government in this project means that it is actively infringing on the property rights of the legitimate owners of these properties, including many US citizens,” Khalidi said.
Ahead of US President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel later this month, families of the landowners have demanded that the plans for the complex be immediately canceled.
Adalah called on Israeli authorities to release the land to its Palestinian owners and is consulting descendants of the owners to determine the possibility of legal action.
Israel’s new prime minister Yair Lapid will also move into a Palestinian house in Jerusalem which was seized using the absentees' law following the Nakba, it was revealed earlier this month.
Two previous Israeli prime ministers, David Ben-Gurion, and Levi Eshkol, refused to live in Palestinian properties seized under the law, making Lapid's decision unusual in Israeli politics.
