30 Israeli Land Grab and Forced Population Transfer of Palestinians it, fertilizing it, and thereby converting it into miri land.107 Conversion is provided for in Article 103 of the Ottoman Land Code: Anyone who is in need of such land can with the leave of the Official plough it up gratuitously and cultivate it on the condition that the legal ownership (raqaba) shall belong to the Treasury. The provisions of the law relating to other cultivated land shall be applicable to this kind of land also. Provided that if any one after getting leave to cultivate such land, and having had it granted to him leaves it as it is for three consecutive years without valid excuse, it shall be given to another. But if anyone has broken up and cultivated land of this kind without leave, there shall be exacted from him payment or the tabou value of the piece of land which he has cultivated and it shall be granted to him by the issue of a title-deed.108 In other words, even without the necessary ‘leave’ individuals could later pay a tabou fee and receive a title deed. If however, cultivation ceased for 3 years then possession rights are extinguished and the land may be available for grant to others. Conversion was greatly restricted under the British Mandate with the enactment of the mewat Land Ordinance in 1921. The Ordinance eradicated the possibility to acquire tassaruf rights on mewat land as previously provided for under Article 103 of the Ottoman Land Code.109 In 1933, the Land Law Amendment Ordinance was passed authorizing the High Commissioner of Palestine – the highest official in the Mandate administration – to declare vacant land as public land. Further, this Ordinance provided that the State did not have to put the land up for auction or to allocate it to an individual. This was since annulled by a Jordanian land law in 1958. The Land Transfer Ordinance required that a permit be obtained before land could be transferred, as a means of “land survey and settlement of dispute operations”.110 Moreover, the British Mandate laws of 1943 – allowed expropriation of private land “for the good of the community”.111 The State of Israel essentially established three main categories: State Land; private land and survey land, for which the ownership is unclear or in dispute. In practice, however, the third category has been treated as State Land. Private land might be 107 The Ottoman Land Code of 7th Ramadan 1274 (1858) Article 3. Article 103, Ottoman Land Code; Tute, The Ottoman Land Code, 97. 108 Tute, The Ottoman Land Code, 97. 109 Norman (Compiler) Bentwich, ed., Legislation of Palestine, 1918-1925: Including the Orders-inCouncil, Ordinances, Public Notices, Proclamations, Regulation, Etc., vol. 1 (London, 1926), 1. 110 Shehadeh, ‘The Land Law of Palestine’, 88. 111 Land (Acquisition for Public Purposes) Ordinance 1943, 1943.