Israel to Seek $250 Billion for Jewish Assets Lost in Mideast

(Bloomberg) -- Israel is expected to seek an estimated $250 billion in compensation for assets abandoned by Jews who fled Middle Eastern countries, Hahadashot Television reported.

Israel hired an unidentified international accounting firm to estimate damages it should seek under an expected U.S. peace plan, the report said. Israel will seek $50 billion for Jewish property in Tunisia and Libya, and claims for assets left in Morocco, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Iran and Yemen are expected to reach $200 billion, Hahadashot added.

The Palestinians said a decade ago they would demand more than $100 billion in compensation from Israel for property abandoned in 1948, when the country came into being, the report said.

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