Israel Appoints Pro-settler Activist to Head Agency Overseeing Palestinian Property in East Jerusalem - Israel News - Haaretz.com
A right-wing activist who founded an organization focused on increasing Jewish presence in Jerusalem will be the head of the Finance Ministry's rebooted Custodian of Absentee Property division, a powerful body responsible for managing Palestinian property in East Jerusalem.
Along with his activism for Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, the newly appointed Hananel Gurfinkel has in the past called for Arab students to be expelled from Haifa's Technion, Israel's Institute of Technology, and publicly spoke against the "Arab occupation" of East Jerusalem.
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Gurfinkel, whose parents were among the founders of the Elkana settlement in the West Bank, resides in Nof Zion, a Jewish settlement located within the predominantly Arab neighborhood of Jabal Mukkaber in East Jerusalem.
For the past decade, he has led the economic unit of the Custodian General's Office in the Justice Ministry. In this role, he managed properties, including buildings and land, that were owned by Jews before 1948 but whose current ownership remains unclear.
Gurfinkel, a well-known figure among East Jerusalem residents, used his position to aid settler organizations seeking to control Palestinian-owned properties and promote new settlement projects in the city.
He facilitated the sale of land in the Silwan area to the pro-settler group Ateret Cohanim, and hired attorneys affiliated with the group and other right-wing organizations to represent the state in eviction cases targeting Palestinian families.
Gurfinkel also actively supported right-wing efforts to expand Jewish settlement and reshape the demographic landscape of East Jerusalem.
Urban renewal
Before Gurfinkel took his post, the Custodian General's Office rarely initiated construction plans for properties under its authority. His tenure, however, marked a significant shift, culminating in a collaboration between the Justice Ministry, Ateret Cohanim and a right-wing-managed real estate company, to advance plans for three new Jewish settlements near Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.
Hundreds of homes for Jews are set to be built in each of these new neighborhoods, adjacent to or even inside Palestinian communities.
The construction plans include the neighborhoods of Givat Shaked near the Palestinian Arab neighborhood of Sharafat, Kdmat Zion near Ras al-Amud and another neighborhood between the Palestinian villages of Umm Lison and Jabal Mukkaber.
Nonprofits Ir Amin and Bimkom, which advocate for Palestinian equality and planning rights in Jerusalem, have petitioned the Supreme Court against these plans by Gurfinkel and the Justice Ministry, but a hearing has yet to take place.
Gurfinkel is also a prominent figure in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, where settler organizations are attempting to evict dozens of Palestinian families, claiming that the properties were built on land that was Jewish-owned before Israel was established.
According to Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah, Gurfinkel has been enthusiastic about evicting them. In an investigative report published in 2018, neighborhood resident Mohammed Zaharan shared an account of a meeting between him and Gurfinkel in court.
"He arrived with three others from the custodian's office, as if they were the landlords," Zaharan said. "When we stepped into the hallway, he told me, 'You seem like someone who loves to play music. Come to my place, I'll sing for you, and you'll play the darabukkas for me.'"
Zaharan added that Gurfinkel had verbally threatened him for about 15 minutes. He recalled Gurfinkel saying, "I'll go all the way with you, with an iron fist. I'll come down on you hard, to the point of [examining] the water tap you have [in your house]. Anyone who made changes to the house should know they'll be evicted."
One of the grounds for eviction of protected tenants is changes made to the property.
Two weeks ago, Gurfinkel arrived – armed with a rifle, as he usually is – to oversee the eviction of a small café near the Old City's Damascus Gate. The owner, Mohammed Kastiro, has been renting the space from the custodian for two decades.
Kastiro told Haaretz that he had recently invested around 200,000 shekels (about $55,000) in renovating the café, but that the custodian's office demanded his eviction, claiming that the renovation violated the agreement. Kastiro attempted to appeal the decision, but the court dismissed his appeal.
An investigative report published by Haaretz in 2018 revealed that Gurfinkel had failed to disclose to his superiors at the Justice Ministry that he had been elected a member of the Habayit Hayehudi party's central committee and had co-founded, with his wife, the nonprofit organization Boneh Yerushalayim, which promotes the establishment of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem. The Justice Ministry launched an investigation after the report, but no action was taken against Gurfinkel.
Recently, Gurfinkel was appointed to a newly commissioned position in the Finance Ministry – administrator general at the Custodian of Absentee Property division. This is a powerful role with significant authority over Palestinian property in East Jerusalem and other parts of Israel.
According to a government source, previously, tenders for projects or roles in the division required knowledge of Arabic, as the unit's activities predominantly involve interactions with Arabic speakers. However, this condition was absent in the tender won by Gorfinkel.
Both the source and human rights organizations in East Jerusalem are convinced that the appointment's purpose is to accelerate settlement construction and increase the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem.
Absentee assets
Under the Israeli law, Palestinians who fled during the War of Independence and did not return are classified as absentees and forfeit their property rights. The law's broad language permits a flexible interpretation of who qualifies as an "absentee," allowing for the transfer of property ownership, typically through proceedings overseen by the administrator general.
In one example, the state worked with the pro-settler Elad organization in eviction lawsuits against Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, claiming the properties were absentee assets.
In some cases, the state demanded property in Jerusalem owned by Palestinians simply because the owners lived in the West Bank, arguing that the West Bank is considered enemy territory as Israel has not annexed it.
In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that authorities should limit their use of the Absentee Property Law in Jerusalem to "rare and exceptional" cases.
In recent years, the Custodian of Absentee Property has gained significant leverage to acquire property and shape planning decisions in Jerusalem.
Following decades during which the government had frozen land registration in East Jerusalem, in 2018, it authorized the Justice Ministry to begin the registration process.
An alleyway in East Jerusalem, last month.Credit: Naama Grynbaum
This development sparked serious concerns among Palestinians about land being registered under the Custodian of Absentee Property's name, on the grounds that the property owners were classified as absentee.
Indeed, in several formalized land parcels, including Givat Hamatos, ownership has already been transferred to the custodian, a pattern repeated in other locations.
Concerns about the land registration project being used to advance Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem intensified when the initial registration zones were announced. These areas include properties in Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan and other Palestinian neighborhoods that have drawn considerable attention from settler organizations.
Ronen Baruch has served as the Custodian of Absentee Property for the past two decades. In response to a freedom of information petition, Baruch admitted in court that he was unaware of the total scope of properties managed by his division.
The Foreign Ministry intervened in the request, arguing that revealing the number of properties under the custodian's control could potentially damage Israel's foreign relations.
According to the government's statement, Baruch will retain his position as custodian, while Gurfinkel will assume the role of general administrator.
In response to a request for comment, the Finance Ministry said that the new position "is designed to enhance the unit's overall operational structure. Arabic language proficiency has never been a requirement in the tender. Regarding the inquiry about the Justice Ministry investigation – the selection committee was not aware of the probe. Our review indicates that while the matter was previously examined by the Justice Ministry, there was no obligation to inform the committee about it."