Avichai Mandelblit
Avichai MandelblitYossi Zamir, Flash 90

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit on Wednesday submitted his response to the Regulation Law, explaining his opposition to it.

According to Mandelblit, the law is "unconstitutional." However, Israel does not have a formal constitution.

The Regulation Law was passed in February and provides financial compensation or alternate plots of land to Arabs who have a legal claim to land inadvertently built on by Jews.

In August, Supreme Court Justice Neal Hendel issued, at Mandelblit's request, a temporary injunction Thursday preventing the implementation of the Regulation Law.

The Regulation Law legalizes and protects thousands of Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria which were built with government backing and lacked absentee land claims, but against which there are now property claims.

Under the Regulation Law, homes built on such properties will be allowed to remain, and owners with proven claims to the land will be given a choice of receiving an alternate plot of land or monetary compensation for 125% of their land's value.

Very few actual land owners have filed such claims in the courts, with most of the suits filed by leftist organizations, as Israeli courts do not limit suits to those who have a direct connection to the issue in dispute. Israel allowed Jordanian land laws to remain binding in Judea and Samaria. According to Jordanian law, the fact that property taxes have not been paid on the lands since 1967, or that the claimants have not used the land in any way, do not affect ownership.