From Yifta Curiel
Sir, - Your report concerning the Tent of Nations project (News, 30 May)
is misleading and factually incorrect on key issues.
There is an ongoing legal dispute concerning the land on which
the project is being carried out. The removal of trees - 300, not
1500 as claimed - was carried out in a plot of land designated as
public land, located in Area C (which, under Interim Accords
between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, is under full Israeli
administrative control).
An Appeals Committee in December 2012 stated clearly that the
petitioners failed to prove their claim of ownership of that plot
of land. A second plot in the area is partly on private land, and
in this area neither trees nor structures were removed - this
although construction was carried out without required building
permits, as the matter is pending judicial decision. Rather than "a
military threat to a peace farm", this is a legal matter that is
being manipulated for political gain.
YIFTAH CURIEL
Spokesperson
Embassy of Israel, 2 Palace Green
London W8 4Q