Most Arabs in east Jerusalem not eligible to buy most homes in western sect

JERUSALEM, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Israel's land regulations prohibit Arab residents of east Jerusalem from taking ownership of the vast majority of Jerusalem homes, found a survey conducted by local daily Ha'aretz and released Tuesday.

This conclusion presented a picture different from the one depicted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, when he dubbed Jerusalem "an open city" and said that no ban exists on Arabs buying apartments in the Jews-dominated west Jerusalem.

According to Israel Lands Administration (ILA) rules, when an Israeli citizen purchases an apartment or house built on ILA land,ownership of the land remains with the ILA, which leases it to thepurchaser for a period of 49 years, said the report.

However, an article of the ILA lease specifies that a foreign national cannot lease ILA land.

If a foreign national wants to purchase an apartment, they have to show the ILA proof of eligibility to immigrate to Israel in accordance with the Law of Return, Yael Azoulay, a lawyer in this field, was quoted as saying, adding that non-Jewish foreigners, including Palestinians in east Jerusalem, cannot purchase apartments.

Most neighborhoods in west Jerusalem and in the Jewish neighborhoods of east Jerusalem are built on ILA land, found the Ha'aretz research.

It also pointed out that "a Palestinian seeking to purchase an apartment in a haredi area would be rejected out of hand" while the upscale neighborhoods "would in any event be out of the range of most east Jerusalemites' budget."

Israel captured the east sect of the holy city in 1967 and then annexed it. Arabs living in east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want to be the capital of their future state, have Israeli identity cards, but are residents rather than citizens of Israel.

The newspaper also reported that an amendment to the Israel Lands Administration Law is currently under discussion in the parliament, adding that should it be passed, an Israeli apartment owner would be able to take ownership of the land and could then sell it to anyone, including foreign nationals and Palestinians.