Some of the confiscated apartments were located in the upscale
neighborhood of Rimal in Gaza City. Many of the occupants had been PA and Fatah officials who
either fled or were killed during the Hamas takeover in 2007.
"Hamas knows exactly who ran away and who left property," a Palestinian
source said. "They have decided to allow Hamas officers to live in them."
The sources said the Hamas policy would affect more than 1,000 houses,
apartments and other assets left behind by the exiled PA officials. Most of
those who fled the Hamas takeover were members of the PA security forces,
including the Preventive Security Apparatus, Military Intelligence, General
Intelligence Services and the Presidential Guard.
"In some cases, those who fled left behind others who moved in and kept
the apartments," the source said. "Those being occupied by Hamas officers
and officials are those that have been vacant for at least a year."
The sources said Hamas planned to intensify its confiscation of assets
by absentee PA officials and Fatah members. They said Hamas, amid a cash
flow crisis, has begun seizing apartments vacant for less than six months.
The sources said Hamas has also justified the seizure of apartments
owned by Fatah members accused of economic crimes. They cited the case of
Aliya Aweida, who found her apartment taken over by a Hamas police officer
in April 2010. The Hamas Interior Ministry said Ms. Aweida's father, Said,
who owned the apartment, had been charged with embezzlement.
"What right and by what religion does he feel permission to take over my
home and my belongings?" Ms. Aweida asked. "How can he himself accept to
live in a home where the things are not his? How does he sleep on a bed he
knows was taken by force?"
Ms. Aweida told the Ramallah-based news agency Maan that the Interior
Ministry has demanded proof that her family rather than the PA owns the
apartment. When she provided the deed, the ministry said Said, being treated
for an advanced stage of cancer, was being investigated for embezzlement.
Hamas has acknowledged that it was seizing vacant apartments in the Gaza
Strip. They cited the so-called Absentee Property Law, which stipulated that
returning owners must be allowed to live in their homes regardless of the
time spent away.
"No policeman is permitted to take over the home," Hamas Interior
Ministry comptroller Hassan Al Seifi said. "By law, it must be returned to
its owners."