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When the Zambian opposition leader opposed a deal to sell 20 dunam (0.02 sq. km) of Zambian land to
China for producing bio-fuel crops, China responded by announcing that if he wins the elections, they will
pull all of their investments out of the country; Chinese farms control most of Zambia’s agriculture.

Food that is produced in Zambia is eaten in China
The obvious question is why does such a large country like China need lands across the ocean in order to
grow food? The answer is that the crop area in China has almost reached its capacity, and if it is increased
past the current situation it will hurt the existing
water supply and bring them to the point of no Excerpt from The great land robbery
return. This is also the situation in Saudi Arabia,
Avirama Golan, Haaretz July 9, 2009
South Korea, and other countries in the Persian
Gulf. Peter Burbank-Litmath, Chairman of Nestle Overall planning in Israel is the responsibility of one of
Co., claims that most of the deals do not pertain to the country's most professional agencies, the Interior
the land but rather to the water sources that can Ministry's Planning Administration. The local planning
be exploited. In parallel to countries’ large committees, which are responsible for filling in the details,
investments in agriculture in third world indeed suffer from various weaknesses, of which the most
countries, mainly Africa, there has been a important is the dangerous involvement of politicians
reduction in public spending on agriculture in hungry for real estate development. But the reform will
these countries. In the past few years, this has led only make this problem worse because in the "Lands
to serious damage to agricultural fertility, which Authority" that will be established in place of the ILA, the
stood at 3-6% per year in the 1960's and now sole decision-makers will be representatives of the
stands at 1-2%. government and the JNF (with the minister in charge of
the agency even having veto rights). The agencies
There need to be sacrifices? responsible for planning, citizens' rights, upholding the
Kenya's Presidential spokesman spoke recently law and preserving the environment will all be left
about a deal in which Qatar offered to build a new outside.
port in Kenya in return for the right to work the
The reform will produce neither an engine nor growth,
land; he said that if you want to attract
neither homes for all nor greater efficiency. Instead, it will
investments in your country, you need to make
produce anarchy in land planning, reserves and regulation,
sacrifices. However, in this case, and also in other
for the benefit of tycoons close to the government - and
cases, it is clear which side gains and which side
sacrifices. who, from now on, will also own an abundance of private
property and land.
What would the damage be if Qatar buys itself a
small plot of land in the State of Israel? In A bank whose managers have sinned can be nationalized
by the government. But how can the government return
Indonesia, for instance, the residents were able to
prevent the sale of 5 million dunams (5000 sq. lands to the public once a holiday village, a country club
and a pool have already been built on them?
km) to a foundation that wanted to buy it for 4.3
billion dollars.

Zahalka: ILA’s complicated bureaucracy serves to prevent land use by Arabs
July 9, 2009, Omri Sidenberg, Land News

“The purpose of the ILA’s complicated bureaucracy is to prevent giving land to Arab citizens,” said MK
Jamal Zahalka, chairman of the Balad Party, in a Knesset Economics Committee discussion about the ILA
reform. Zahalka also spoke against the reform, calling it a “reform for the rich”. Zahalka explained that “the
impoverished Arab public will not be able to take part in it,” and they are, according to Zahalka, the main
victims of the reform.