Officials in the Palestinian Authority are buying land parcels throughout Yehuda and Shomron in expectation of a deal with Israel and the eventual declaration of a Palestinian state.

Some of the land buyers are involved in negotiations between the PA and Israel, Al-Quds Al-Arabia reported.

The areas are currently under Israeli control, usually situated in proximity to yishuvim or IDF bases.

While many of the land plots are registered to private Arab owners, they have all but exhausted any hope of ever seeing ownership of the properties, so they are selling to real estate agents who are in turn selling the land to the PA officials.

Such widespread strong-arm tactics have been ongoing in PA-controlled Bet Lechem for a long time, with many land owners, primarily Christians, losing valuable properties to PA officials who have unilaterally decided the lands are no longer the property of the rightful longtime registered owners.

Efforts via legal channels and letters sent to PA authorities have fallen on deaf ears, members of Bet Lechem’s Christian community report.

The land plots being purchased now in Yehuda and Shomron are relatively inexpensive, with the PA officials well-aware that following the signing of a peace agreement and the declaration of a Palestinian state, the areas’ worth will appreciate significantly.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)