The Expropriation that Wasn't an Expropriation
"Expropriation" means taking land away from someone. In spite of what you might've heard, there was no "expropriation" of land in the west bank this week. No land was taken from anybody.
There has been a tempest in a tea cup over the announcement that almost 1000 acres near Efrat have been designated "state land."
This simply means that, after a legal title search, the area has been determined to be otherwise ownerless. It is the result of a complicated process, which can be appealed. It isn't an expropriation. It isn't a "land grab" or a theft or a license to build. No building, in fact, has been planned. Perhaps, at some point, Efrat *might* be expanded. Perhaps it won't. Perhaps the land will some day become Palestinian, in which case it will likely be considered Palestinian state land, based on the legal work done by Israel.
Compare the hysteria over this faux "land grab" with the fact that Israel approved a large construction plan for an Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem over the objections of right-wing city councilors. The plan for the Arav al-Swahara neighborhood extends over 1,500 dunams (375 acres) and calls for building 2,200 homes.
I think it would be an error to expand Efrat at this time - but legal classification of property in an area where land titles and registration have generally been unclear, isn't theft. It's housekeeping.