Israel's Custodian for Absentee Property took possession of property in Israel that had been owned by anyone who was in the years 1948-50 residing in enemy states (or land they controlled). Jordan's Custodian of Enemy Property did the same in the West Bank.

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— Shany Mor שני מור شني مور (@ShMMor) May 10, 2021

In urban settings, both Israel and Jordan were keen to use abandoned property for resettlement of refugees. There were political aspects to this, to be sure, but mostly this was a practical response to the massive waves of refugees both countries absorbed after 1948.

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— Shany Mor שני מור شني مور (@ShMMor) May 10, 2021

In the 4 properties in Shimon Hatzadik (a formerly Jewish neighborhood next Sheikh Jarrah) which hold the world's attention this week, titles were never transferred to the new residents, and it was still held by the Jordanian Custodian when Jordan lost the territory in 1967.

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— Shany Mor שני מור شني مور (@ShMMor) May 10, 2021

1) As East Jerusalem was now (according to Israeli law) in Israel, but all its inhabitants had been in enemy territory in 1948-50, the law could conceivably deprive the entire population of its property.

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— Shany Mor שני מור شني مور (@ShMMor) May 10, 2021

To deal with both, the law was updated in 1970 so that Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem could not be considered absentees, and that property that was still under Jordanian guardianship in 1967 could be restored to the Israelis it was confiscated from.

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— Shany Mor שני מור شني مور (@ShMMor) May 10, 2021

But the description of Israeli law as essentially racist (and the implied expectation that Israel has a unique responsibility unprecedented in warfare to compensate its defeated enemies without a comprehensive peace being concluded first) is wildly inaccurate.

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— Shany Mor שני מור شني مور (@ShMMor) May 10, 2021