Several Christian families in Bethlehem have fallen victim to a scam involving theft of official land registration documents by a Muslim gang.  The properties were then fraudulently sold to other Muslims.  Palestinian Authority security forces have busted five land dealers and three court system employees.

[M]embers of a local Muslim gang have been arrested on suspicion of stealing land and property registration documents from the Bethlehem Magistrate's Court.

Bethlehem Governor Salah Ta'mari confirmed that an investigation was under way to determine who was behind the theft. He said most of the stolen documents belonged to families living abroad.

A Christian businessman told the Post that most of the victims were Christian families living in the US and Latin America. "They are stealing our homes almost every day," he said. "We believe the suspects have been receiving help from some Palestinian security officers here."

It is unclear whether the affected families will be able to recover their property.  Some of the arrested land brokers are said to have powerful political connections.  In some cases, stolen real estate has been acquired by Palestinian Authority officials.

h/t: International Christian Concern

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