Israel theft and occupation

"The prickly problem is the fate of Ajami's 20,000 Arab residents, 80 percent of whom live below the poverty line. About a quarter of them live in state-run "Absentee Ownership" properties, which the Israeli government now wants to sell. Israel says these homes were abandoned by their Arab owners during the 1948 war that established the Jewish state. When the war ended, the state took them over as public housing for both Jewish and Arab families. Refugees, many of whom ended up in camps in the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip, down the coast, say their families were driven out of Jaffa and still lay claim to homes there. BORN SQUATTERS Most Arab residents of Ajami say they are living in homes that were once owned by their families, and should be treated as rightful heirs. Instead, they are "protected tenants" whose right to the homes expired after two post-1948 generations. "If you are from the third generation, you became a squatter the day you were born," Ilany said. The "squatters" are now fighting eviction. They say Amidar, the company contracted by Israel's Land Authority (ILA) to run the properties, stands to make a killing by selling their homes." (thanks Dina)