Land Confiscation Introduction 39 proof rests with the individual and that at least 50 percent of the land in question must have been cultivated for the past 10 years).155 Various petitions filed by Palestinians against the declaration (of State Land) process and against the appeals committee (whereby individuals can oppose declarations) failed before the Israeli Supreme Court. See, for example: HJC 81/285, Fadil Muhammad a-Nazar et al v. Commander of Judea and Samaria et al., Piskei Din 36 (1) 701. In a-Nazar et al v. Commander of Judea and Samaria et al. where the Court upheld the legality of the declaration mechanism and rejected the petitioner’s right to object because they could not prove personal injury on State Land. See also HCJ 7530/01, 'Ali Khalil Musalem Sharitih et al. v. Civil Administration for Judea and Samaria et al. The case of Sharitih et al. v. Civil Administration for Judea and Samaria et al. involved the Makhamara family who jointly held 280 dunums of lands in the Hebron District and had consistently farmed the land for years. In 1997 they discovered that the land had been declared State Land since 1982. The family, represented by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, duly submitted an objection with the appeals committee.156 The Court rejected the petition among others on the basis that the appellants missed the date for submission of an appeal (45 days). Absentee Land The basis for this method of confiscation is enshrined in the Order Regarding Abandoned Property.157 The Military Order stipulates that “any property whose owner and holder left the West Bank before, during or after the 1967 war is defined as an abandoned property and attributed to the Custodian for Abandoned Property on behalf of the commander of the Israeli Military in the region. Furthermore the Custodian is entitled to take possession and to manage the property as he sees fit”.158 The authority to declare land or property as ‘abandoned’ extends to property whose owner is ‘unknown’.159 The definitions and provisions of this Military Order were further expanded to include property belonging to a person who is a resident of an enemy country or a corporation controlled by residents of an enemy country.160 Legally, the Custodian for Abandoned Property is purely the trustee of the property 155 Order Concerning Appeals Committees (Judea and Samaria) 1967, n.d. Article 3. 156 Isma’il Alyan Et Al. V. Custodian for Government Property in Judea and Samaria (n.d.). 157 Order Regarding Abandoned Property (Private Property) (Judea and Samaria) 5727-1967, 1967. 158 B’Tselem, Land Grab, 58; Order Regarding Abandoned Property (Private Property) (Judea and Samaria) 5727-1967 Section 8. 159 Order Regarding Abandoned Property (Private Property) (Judea and Samaria) 5727-1967 Section 4(c). 160 Order Regarding Abandoned Property (Private Property) (Additional Provisions) (Judea and Samaria) 5727-1967, 150, 1967.