A US military map reviewed by the Financial Times marks a "US Planned Community Area" and a planned UAE housing complex over private Palestinian land within a "Rafah Clearance Zone." Israel currently controls more than half of Gaza, where 2 million people lived before the conflict. Planners reportedly expressed dismay when informed that land ownership must be verified before construction begins on these sites.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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US Military Map Plots Housing on Private Gaza Land
War8 days ago
Israel's military operations in Gaza erased land registries, bar association files, and lawyers' offices, removing the deeds and contracts Palestinians need to reclaim their homes. Displaced residents sheltering near the ruins of the land registry burned Ottoman-era records for warmth and cooking, while other physical archives vanished in the rubble of destroyed neighborhoods. Legal representatives are now attempting to reconstruct ownership cases using electricity bills, old videos, and testimony from surviving neighbors.
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