On Sunday 12/1/2024, Haaretz newspaper revealed the creation of a new department in the Israeli Ministry of Finance as an executive arm of the “Custodian of Absentee Property” law, under the name “Custodian of Absentee Property Department.”
The extremist settler is headed by Hananel Gurfinkel, and will have a significant influence on the Palestinians in Jerusalem, as he will manage their properties in the city and will play a role in evicting Palestinian tenants from these properties, according to the newspaper.
The “Custodian of Absentee Property” unit operates within the structure of the “Israeli” Ministry of Justice, which is the body responsible for managing about 900 Palestinian properties, most of which are located in the eastern part of Jerusalem. These properties are owned by Palestinians who were displaced from the city after its occupation in 1967, according to the “Absentee Property” Law, which was passed by the Israeli Knesset in 1950 at the initiative of the “Mapai” party (currently the Labor Party).