1. Absentee Property Military Order Similar to the Absentee Property Law enacted in Palestine 1948, Military Order 58 Regarding Abandoned Property (1967) provided for the transfer of properties whose owners had fled because of the 1967 War to the “Custodian for Abandoned Property,” 44 who is entitled to take possession of it and manage it as he pleases.45 Further, (Military) Order no. 150 expanded the definition of “abandoned property” to include property belonging to a person “resident of an enemy country.”46 In theory, the Custodian is supposed to protect the property until the owner’s return, who is entitled to restitution of his property as well as to the profits derived therefrom. Conveniently, Israel has forbidden the return of Palestinian refugees, thereby blocking any claim for restitution of “abandoned property.”47 Israeli officials even admitted in 2006 that a list of “absentee” land owners was established in order to prevent their return and any potential property claim.48 2. Manipulative Land Designation as State Land and Nature Reserves During its administration of the West Bank between 1949 and 1967, Jordan had designated parts of the land as State Land. When the Israeli occupation began in 1967, Israel claimed these lands as “State Lands” in a similar process as in 1948, though using military legislation. Military Order 59 “Concerning Government Property (Judea and Samaria)” allowed for a Custodian appointed 44 BADIL and COHRE, Ruling Palestine – A History of the Legally Sanctioned Jewish-Israeli Seizure of Land and Housing in Palestine (Geneva, Switzerland; Bethlehem, Palestine, 2005), 85. 45 B’Tselem, Land Grab Israel’s Settlement Policy in the West Bank, trans. Yael Stein (Jerusalem, May 2002), 58, Available at: http://www.btselem.org/download/200205_land_grab_ eng.pdf. [Hereinafter: B’Tselem, Land Grab Israel’s Settlement Policy in the West Bank]. 46 Order Regarding Abandoned Property (Private Property) (Additional Provisions) (Judea and Samaria) 5727-1967, 150, 1967. 47 B’Tselem, Land Grab Israel’s Settlement Policy in the West Bank, 58. 48 Haaretz, “Ministry Admits ‘Blacklist’ of Palestinians who left W. Bank”, 2006, Accessed 15 February 2022, Available at: https://www.haaretz.com/1.4855904 14