Israel is set to return more than 120ha of farmland in the northern Jordan Valley to its Palestinian owners, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The announcement came following the Israel Lands Administration’s (ILA) admission that it had mistakenly assigned the land to Kibbutz Merav, which lies within the Green Line, coming under the administration of Israel.
The ILA admitted the 30-year-old error this month in a letter to attorney Tawfiq Jabarin, who represents the landowners.
However, although the ILA apparently informed the kibbutz a year ago that the land was no longer theirs, the kibbutz continues to cultivate it.
Haaretz reported that Israel had seized control of over 2,000ha of privately owned Palestinian land over the years, transferring it to Israeli settlements for agricultural use.
