110 Israeli Land Grab and Forced Population Transfer of Palestinians deeds of inheritance or purchase in order to begin the permit application procedure.398 Additionally, Palestinians are wary of Israeli authorities who may activate the Absentee Property Law399 as a means of further dispossessing Palestinians. Applying for a Building Permit While most land in East Jerusalem is unregistered, some land is registered or “settled” and others may be “under settlement” meaning that the registration process had begun but had not been completed prior to 1967. For registered land, applicants must provide a document (tabou) from the Israeli Land Registry that identifies oneself as the owner. Due to the Absentee Property Law targeting Palestinians in East Jerusalem with expropriation, many landowners choose not to submit applications in order to avoid the risk of confiscation. Applying for building permits on land “under settlement” (registration) requires: • A deed from the Land Settlement Officer; • Confirmation from the Ministry of Finance: this document should demonstrate registration in the files of the tax authorities and that all relevant property taxes have been paid; • Confirmation from the Israeli Mapping Center: this document should state that the land where the applicant wishes to build has not been registered; • Affidavit from the landlord; • Affidavit from the local mukhtar specifying the individuals who hold rights to the land. Applications for a building permit on settled land are submitted to the Licensing 398 Until 2000, in cases where the current owner of the land was not the person registered with the Israeli Land Registry/tabou, such as a successor or a buyer, it was sufficient to provide an inheritance deed or a purchase deed. However, under procedures in place since 2000, by seeking to register with the Israeli Land Registry/tabou the landowner risks having the land transferred into the hands of the Custodian of the Absentee Property. This can happen if, for instance, ownership documents indicate that one of the heirs is an “absentee” owner. 399 The Absentee Property Law authroizes state confiscation of lands without notifying the owners or awarding them compensation. Approaching the bureaucracy may put individuals at risk to triggering the Absentee Law and the threat of exposure discourages many Palestinians from attempting registration, manifesting in their inability to acquire legal building permits. See: Chapter I (Section Absentee Property Law) for more details.