NBC World Blog Reports Disputed Land Claims as Fact

NBC’s World Blog reports as fact a Palestinian farmer’s disputed claims about expropriation of his land in Walaja:

But 70-year-old Abu Nidal doesn’t need a special calendar day to remind him of the Israeli occupation and their confiscation of his land. Nidal just needs to wake up every morning and look outside his window to see how the Israelis are confiscating his land.

He lives in the village Al Walaja, nestled in the hills between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Half of the village of just over 2,000 is considered to be part of Jerusalem and the other half is part of the West Bank. So now the Israeli security wall snakes through the village. . . .

It was his grandmother’s wish that every family member be buried on their 11-acre farm land. But the Israelis have a different plan for the confiscated land. They are planning to build not only the wall, but a recreational park for Israelis on the other side of the wall.

But, as reported in Ha’aretz, authorities state that the plans for the park “do not call for the expropriation of privately-owned land”:

Ir Amim says 1,250 dunams were added to the park plan about a year ago. The fence will cut villagers off from agricultural land and the park, which are on the Israeli side of the separation fence, Ir Amim says.

The groups says residents lost access to their land inside Jerusalem when sites were declared national parkland. But the development authority says the entire park is within Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries and that the plans do not address land ownership.

They also do not call for the expropriation of privately-owned land, the authority says.

“In any event, there is no intention to expropriate privately-owned land,” the authority said in a statement. “Most of the area already serves as a national park, and the expansion is being carried out to protect nature and the landscape.” . . .

But Ze’ev Hacohen, a planner at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, noted that Walaja residents would still be able to work their land.

He said the village’s farmers would be able to cross the fence at a gate, although he acknowledged that the barrier would make access more difficult.

Abu Nidal goes on to suggest that Israel’s courts never rule in the favor of Palestinians, a blatantly false claim, which NBC’s Paul Goldman does not contradict:

This Friday when demonstrators take to the streets commemorating Land Day, Nidal won’t join them; his battle is being waged in the Israeli courts. But he pointed out that his case doesn’t have much of a shot. “The court is Israeli, the judge is Israeli and the lawyers are Israelis. It’s a losing battle.”

In fact, there is no shortage of examples in which Israeli courts ruled in favor of Palestinians.