On Tuesday 29 June, Israeli police watched on and provided protection to a bulldozer as it flattened Harbi Rajabi’s butcher’s shop in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan, leaving his employee Mahmoud Basit and his 14 family members without an income. This was the first of the 16 demolition orders to be applied to Palestinian...Read More

The Absentee Property Law (APL) was enacted in the wake of the 1948 War to transfer the property of Palestinian refugees to the Israeli authorities. The provisions of the APL defined "absentee" and "absentee property" broadly. The APL also granted the Custodian of Absentee Property absolute authority, including the ability to release the property, while...Read More