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B`Tselem and Bimkom fighting settlers at the stock market
B`Tselem report
B`Tselem website
Aug 30/Sept. 3

Aug 30 URL
http://www.btselem.org/english/settlements/20060830_modiin_ilit_stock_issue.asp

Sept. 3 URL
http://www.btselem.org/english/settlements/20060903_modiin_ilit_stock_issue.asp


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30 August 2006: Naot Hapisga Modi`in Ltd. postpones attempt to raise capital following B`Tselem`s and Bimkom`s letter to the Securities Authority

On 28 August 2006, B`Tselem and Bimkom wrote to the Securities Authority`s enforcement supervisor to inform the authority about errors in the prospectus issued by Naot Hapisga Modi`in Ltd. on 22 August. Today it was reported that the company decided, following B`Tselem and Bimkom`s letter, to postpone its efforts to raise capital.

In December 2005, B`Tselem and Bimkom published a comprehensive report on the route of the Separation Barrier, in which the two organizations analyzed cases in which the route was significantly affected by plans to expand settlements, and the effect of the planned route on the human rights of Palestinians. One of the cases involved Modi`in Illit, where the organizations found that the barrier was set to promote the expansion of the bloc of settlements centering around Modi`in Illit, in part by taking control of privately-owned Palestinian farmland.

On 22 August, the company filed a prospectus in advance of making a public offering of bonds and options. B`Tselem and Bimkom compared the information in the prospectus with the information they had accumulated during their investigation. They found many errors in the prospectus relating to the Naot Hapisga project that the company is building in Modi`in Illit. The errors create a false picture in an attempt to conceal some of the substantial problems that the company faces in building the project.

The claims raised in the letter are limited to the misleading information presented in the prospectus, and do not include a comprehensive description of how the project violates the human rights of the Palestinians living in the nearby villages. These violations are fully discussed in the organizations` report, which they published in December 2005.

Some of the main points made in the B`Tselem`s and Bimkom`s letter follow.

- According to the prospectus
The project is adjacent to the Green Line.
- In actual fact
The project`s Western-most point is 3 km east of the Green Line.
- According to the prospectus
The project is being constructed west of the Separation Barrier.
- In actual fact
Part of the Barrier`s route in this area is under the High Court`s scrutiny, and therefore has not been finalised.
- According to the prospectus
Construction of the Separation Barrier in this area has been completed.
- In actual fact
Not all sections of the Barrier have been completed, and there is a High Court injunction preventing its continued construction in one section.
- According to the prospectus
Construction of the Matityahu East project has been completed.
- In actual fact
On 12.1.06, the High Court ordered a freeze on construction of this project, therefore it is not completed.
- According to the prospectus
Matityahu East reaches the valley south of the Neot Hapisga project area.
- In actual fact
A wide area bordering the project to the south, is not contained within the settlement`s municipal area, and is not included in any valid plan for the building or expansion of the settllement. The area is densly planted with olive trees, and is cultivated by residents of Bil`in.

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3 Sept. 2006: Modi`in Illit developer`s amended prospectus also inaccurate

On 28 August, B`Tselem and Bimkom informed the Securities Authority`s enforcement supervisor of inaccuracies in the prospectus that Naot HaPisga Modi`in Illit Ltd. issued on 22 August. The media reported, on 30 August, that, as a result of the organizations` letter, the company decided to postpone the public offering.

On 3 September, the company published a new prospectus. B`Tselem and Bimkom reviewed the document and found that it, too, is inaccurate.

The company added that olive orchards border the project on the south, but failed to mention that the land is owned by Palestinians and lies outside Modi`in Illit`s jurisdictional area.

The company also failed to mention that, according to the relevant outline plan, it is forbidden to start construction of 138 residential units (of the 2,439 units planned) before the question of ownership of the land is resolved. The land on which the 138 units are planned belongs to Bil`inVillage. It has not been declared state land and has not been registered on the name of Israeli purchasers.

B`Tselem and Bimkom again wrote to the Securities Authority, warning it that the company is blurring facts which indicate that expanding the settlement entails infringing Palestinians` human rights.

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