Criminal Prohibitions of Land Sales to Israelis in the Palestinian Authority

Abstract

The article brings to light the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s criminal prohibition of the sale of land to Israelis and jews. It probes the way the PA has applied it during the presidency of Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) by directly examining PA legislation and case law, public statements by prosecution authorities, and media reportage in the PA areas. The study reveals that the prohibition has diverse normative origins, that the PA Attorney General takes many dozens of defendants to court, and that the courts sentence said defendants to prison terms ranging from five years to life. Moreover, the danger of death or grave bodily injury always hover over those suspected of making such sales or even of attempting to do so. Though death penalty is not explicity specified in PA legislation, it was imposed, but not implemented, in one exceptional case. The PA legal system considers such sales, even when carried out in Jerusalem or with non-Jews, a grave act, tantamount to treason. It justifies it by claiming that it serves the Israeli settlement enterprise and weakens the policy positions of the PA.