The report deals with the status of land on which the playing facilities of the 6 football clubs in Israeli (illegal) settlements in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, were built on. The settlements are: Oranit, Ariel (2 different locations), Givat Zeev, Ma'ale Adumim and Tomer.

 

This new report is a follow up on the Human Rights Watch report entitled: FIFA Sponsoring Games on Seized Land. Its purpose is to clarify the status of the land on which the six compounds were established to host the league’s matches in the settlements. The report describes the mechanisms that enabled Israel to take over the land of 6 different Palestinian communities and transfer it to Israeli settlers for their exclusive use. All these land takeover mechanisms are considered strictly illegal according to the international law and the vast majority of the international community.    

Kerem Navot opinion is that no clubs which play on stolen land should be accepted by FIFA!

 

The main Conclusions of the report:

• All Israeli settlements are declared since 1997 as "closed military zone" for the Palestinians residents of the West Bank, who cannot enter them except with special permissions issued by the Israeli authorities.

• The 6 football fields are built on land which was seized from 6 different Palestinian communities: Saniriya (Oranit), Beitunia (Givat Zeev), Al Fasayil (Tomer), Al Eizariya (Ma'ale Adumim), Salfit & Marda (2 compounds in Ariel).

• In order to seize the land which these settlements were built upon, the Israeli authorities utilized several administrative measures which were used to take over wide areas in the entire West Bank:

  1. Transfer of territory that was listed as state land in the land registry (Tabu) prior to 1967, to Israeli settlers - Tomer

  2. Seizure for security purposes - Ariel

  3. Expropriation for public use - Ma'ale Adumim

 

• Declaration of state land - Oranit and Ariel (in Ariel the declaration was done after the military seizure)

• The football field in Givat Zeev settlement was built on privately owned land possessed by 2 Palestinian families from Beitunya whose access to their land was subsequently blocked.   

• Historical aerial photos show that before their seizure, the lands in Givat Zeev, Oranit, Ma'ale Adumim and in 1 of the compounds in Ariel were partly or fully cultivated by Palestinian farmers on a seasonal base.

• The land which the football field in Tomer was built on was used by Al Fasail herders for grazing.