Constitutional Property Rights in Israel and the West Bank

Abstract

Property dispossessions, particularly those affecting Palestinian owners, played a significant role in the establishment of Israel. In 1992, years after its founding, the state constitutionalized basic human rights, including property rights. This chapter argues that this constitutionalization did not operate retroactively to address past grievances. It was not accompanied by recognition of, or reparations for, past wrongs, nor did it alter the continued application of pre-constitutional laws, except in cases involving formal land expropriations from (mostly) Jewish owners within Israel. With respect to newly enacted legislation, the Israeli Supreme Court recognized its authority in 1995 to invalidate laws that fail to meet constitutional standards. Despite repeated attempts to prompt the Court to exercise that authority, it has done so on the basis of property rights violations in only four cases over the thirty years since the enactment of Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. All of these cases involved the property rights of specific, politically contested groups, including asylum seekers, Palestinians, and Jewish settlers in the Occupied Territories. The chapter offers a concise, systematic overview of the status of property rights before and after their constitutionalization, with particular emphasis on cases in which newly enacted laws have been invalidated.