Israel to demand $150 billion in lost Jewish property from Arab States in any peace deal

Just-released figures, reported by Israel Hayom, give a “conservative” assessment of $150 billion in property lost.

By World Israel News Staff

Will President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” include Arab compensation to Israel for property left behind by Jews in Arab states and Iran when they were forced to flee when the State of Israel was established in 1948?

The president’s plan has been anticipated for a long time and delayed, according to U.S. officials, largely because of the political instability in Israel for nearly a year.

Now, however, a report issued in Israel after years of research, has assessed that $150 billion of Jewish property was abandoned when some 850,000 Jews fled as Arab nations launched a war on the newborn Jewish State and conditions for Jews in those countries became unbearable.

In its exclusive report, Israel Hayom says this figure is considered a “conservative” estimate.

Previous reports have cited a figure of $250 billion.

In 2010, the Knesset passed a law requiring the inclusion of reparations as part of any peace deal with the Arab World.

Ashley Perry, active in advancing the cause when he served as a senior adviser in the Israeli Foreign Ministry, tells World Israel News that the law was meant to counter Palestinian claims of compensation for their refugees.

He notes that an accounting firm was hired to ascertain the extent of Jewish property left behind.

Perry expressed pleasure that the actions since taken and the figures now released have raised this issue from just “a talking point” in negotiations to a “practical” matter whenever talks would take place in the future.

Minister for Social Equality Gila Gamliel told Israel Hayom that “the current examination [of property lost] is important for the past, of course, but also for the present and in particular currently, certainly at a time that diplomatic plans including President Trump’s deal of the century are on the agenda with all of the diplomatic ramifications that are attached.”

In insisting during talks on forming a national unity government that he must remain prime minister at least for the coming months, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed the relationship with President Trump and, in particular, imminent diplomatic and security moves with Washington, as the reason why he must maintain his position at the helm of the Israeli government.