ABSTRACT
Jewish ownership and control of land was seen by the Zionist leaders of the pre-state era as the major component of success in the struggle for a Jewish state. In order to facilitate acquisition of land in Palestine for the settlement of Jews, in 1901 the Fifth Zionist Congress decided on establishment of the Jewish National Fund. This chapter reviews the two stages in land control: expropriation and freezing of ownership. The issue of land expropriation is possibly the most painful in the relationship between the Arabs in Israel and the Jewish state. The covenant lays down the policy both for administration and development of state lands. During the 1960’s Jewish settlements which had been established on land leased to them by the Israel Lands Administration began subletting part of the land to Arabs, many of whom had lost their lands by one of the various methods of expropriation.
