HOLY LAND: BETHLEHEM MUSLIM GANG ACCUSED OF USING STOLEN DOCUMENTS TO GRAB CHRISTIAN'S LAND

Bethlehem Muslim gang accused of using stolen documents to grab Christians' land

Dozens of Christian families from the Bethlehem area are about to discover that their homes and lands have been "sold" to Muslims without their knowledge, Palestinian Authority security officials said Thursday.

The officials told The Jerusalem Post that members of a local Muslim gang have been arrested on suspicion of stealing land and property registration documents from the Bethlehem Magistrate's Court.

Bethlehem Governor Salah Ta'mari confirmed that an investigation was under way to determine who was behind the theft. He said most of the stolen documents belonged to families living abroad.

A Christian businessman told the Post that most of the victims were Christian families living in the US and Latin America. "They are stealing our homes almost every day," he said. "We believe the suspects have been receiving help from some Palestinian security officers here."
The scam was uncovered when court officials complained that many files relating to cases involving ownership of property had disappeared, a security official said.

Initially, police thought thieves had broken into the court and stolen the files, he added.
However, further investigation revealed that the theft was an inside job. Three court employees and five land dealers were later arrested in connection with the case.

The official refused to reveal the land brokers' identities, but sources in the city said some of them were not real land dealers.

"These are people with close ties to the Palestinian security forces," the sources said. "We have written to the Palestinian Authority demanding a full inquiry. This is one of the biggest scandals in Bethlehem and many families are very worried that they may lose their property."

"The phenomenon of forging land registration documents has existed in Bethlehem for nearly 15 years," Ta'mari said. "We have resisted attempts to hinder the investigation and we are determined to fully pursue our efforts."

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