Last week (January 7), Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued an order "mitigating" the settlement freeze - in effect revising the terms of the settlement "moratorium" imposed earlier by military order. The order was immediately denounced by settlers as meaningless, but the headlines told the real story, at least in terms of how the decision is viewed politcally: Haaretz: "6 weeks into settlement freeze, Barak eases restrictions"; YNet: "Barak orders settlement freeze mitigations" and Maariv (Hebrew) "Following the Freeze: Eases in Construction."
Now, in the "adding insult to injury" category, it is being reported today that the Israeli High Court of Justice has decided to re-examine the cases of two illegal outposts - outposts that in the past the government of Israel has admitted are completely illegal and promised to demolish. In the words of Peace Now Secretary General Yaariv Oppenheimer, "The government of Israel is thumbing its nose at the rule of law and granting immunity to illegal building by settlers. On the same day that the Civil Administration destroyed 14 Palestinian buildings, the settlers are again being granted a judicial gift, as the process changes from evacuation to authorization. The defense minister ensures protection of the status of the Supreme Court within the Green Line - but decides to ignore the law and submit to settler pressure beyond it."
Background on both stories after the break.
Now, in the "adding insult to injury" category, it is being reported today that the Israeli High Court of Justice has decided to re-examine the cases of two illegal outposts - outposts that in the past the government of Israel has admitted are completely illegal and promised to demolish. In the words of Peace Now Secretary General Yaariv Oppenheimer, "The government of Israel is thumbing its nose at the rule of law and granting immunity to illegal building by settlers. On the same day that the Civil Administration destroyed 14 Palestinian buildings, the settlers are again being granted a judicial gift, as the process changes from evacuation to authorization. The defense minister ensures protection of the status of the Supreme Court within the Green Line - but decides to ignore the law and submit to settler pressure beyond it."
Background on both stories after the break.
Barak's revisions to the settlement "moratorium" -- The settlers' rejection of the order as meaningless is, unsurprisingly,
disingenuous at best (Hebrew-readers can view the actual Ministry of Defense announcement here). The revised order is in no way insignificant,
appearing to give the settler municipalities several significant authorities:
authority to grant construction permits for changes and expansions of
existing residential homes; authority to carry out public
infrastructure works within the borders of the settlement; and
authority to go ahead with processing, but not granting, construction permits -- meaning that when the moratorium ends,
there could theoretically be a significant pool of permits applications that have been fully processed, with the permits ready to be issued the moment the authority to do so is re-instated.
The outposts of Hayovel and Harsha - Peace Now originally brought its petitions regarding these two outposts to the Israeli High Court in September 2005. The petitions called for the implementation of demolition orders issued by the Israeli authorities against these two very straightforward cases of illegal construction (both of which are highlighted in the Sasson Report). At that time the houses were uninhabited - meaning that at that point, implementing the demolition orders would have been relatively easy. However, thanks to the State's strategy of "buying time" with the court, the settlers had the opportunity to move inhabitants into the houses, making implementation of the still-valid orders much more complicated.
In July 2009, the High Court gave the government of Israel four months to set a timetable for the evacuation of these two outposts, ruling in favor of a 2005 order requiring them to be demolished. For Israeli press articles about that decision, click here. In June 2009, the High Court President Dorit Beinisch lambasted the government regarding the case, stating "For years we have heard about demolition ordered issued by authorities, but the answers received are always general and vague..." She also said, ""For years, we have been hearing from you about demolition orders that the authorities issue. But each time, nothing happens. You keep saying the law must be observed, and this is obvious. But, then, it is your duty to honor what you say."
Now, as Israel is trying to convince the world that it is serious about wanting peace and that it is serious about the settlement moratorium, the High Court appears to be caving to government and settler pressure regarding these two outposts.
As Haaretz reports today, "After four and a half years of government promises to destroy the two West Bank settlements of Hayovel and Harsha, the High Court of Justice said yesterday that it intends to examine conditions on the ground there, potentially paving the way for their formal recognition.
"The High Court of Justice's deliberation over these settlements has become a symbol of other petitions to the court concerning illegal West Bank construction. The petition in question, filed by Peace Now in 2005, called on the government to enforce a demolition order for the nine homes that constitute Hayovel, which is actually an outpost of the settlement of Eli, and the seven homes in Harsha, east of the Talmonim bloc.
"The state originally informed the High Court that the structures were illegal and would therefore be razed, but added that their demolition would be carried out according to a priority list drafted by the security apparatus. Since the government kept dragging its feet, the High Court judges asked it a year ago to set a timetable for the demolition.
Since" the formation of the Netanyahu government, settlement leaders aided by ministers Moshe Ayalon and Limor Livnat have exerted consistent pressure on the Justice Ministry to find legal justification for preserving the houses in question.
"Their pressure reaped rewards with yesterday's government announcement that before the demolition is carried out, the state intends to examine whether the areas fall under the category of state land, or are whether they are under private Palestinian ownership.
"The state also said that even if the outposts are razed, it would need another six months to complete the evacuation of residents there, due to the fact that law enforcement agents are bogged down these days by monitoring the settlement freeze. The announcement means in effect that the demolition will be postponed to an unspecified date, and may never be carried out at all.
"If the investigation reveals that the area is indeed state land, the government may choose to retroactively authorize the homes, as it did on numerous occasions across the West Bank. If the land is privately owned by Palestinians, the state will be forced to either raze the structures or find some other creative solution to allow them to remain..."
The outposts of Hayovel and Harsha - Peace Now originally brought its petitions regarding these two outposts to the Israeli High Court in September 2005. The petitions called for the implementation of demolition orders issued by the Israeli authorities against these two very straightforward cases of illegal construction (both of which are highlighted in the Sasson Report). At that time the houses were uninhabited - meaning that at that point, implementing the demolition orders would have been relatively easy. However, thanks to the State's strategy of "buying time" with the court, the settlers had the opportunity to move inhabitants into the houses, making implementation of the still-valid orders much more complicated.
In July 2009, the High Court gave the government of Israel four months to set a timetable for the evacuation of these two outposts, ruling in favor of a 2005 order requiring them to be demolished. For Israeli press articles about that decision, click here. In June 2009, the High Court President Dorit Beinisch lambasted the government regarding the case, stating "For years we have heard about demolition ordered issued by authorities, but the answers received are always general and vague..." She also said, ""For years, we have been hearing from you about demolition orders that the authorities issue. But each time, nothing happens. You keep saying the law must be observed, and this is obvious. But, then, it is your duty to honor what you say."
Now, as Israel is trying to convince the world that it is serious about wanting peace and that it is serious about the settlement moratorium, the High Court appears to be caving to government and settler pressure regarding these two outposts.
As Haaretz reports today, "After four and a half years of government promises to destroy the two West Bank settlements of Hayovel and Harsha, the High Court of Justice said yesterday that it intends to examine conditions on the ground there, potentially paving the way for their formal recognition.
"The High Court of Justice's deliberation over these settlements has become a symbol of other petitions to the court concerning illegal West Bank construction. The petition in question, filed by Peace Now in 2005, called on the government to enforce a demolition order for the nine homes that constitute Hayovel, which is actually an outpost of the settlement of Eli, and the seven homes in Harsha, east of the Talmonim bloc.
"The state originally informed the High Court that the structures were illegal and would therefore be razed, but added that their demolition would be carried out according to a priority list drafted by the security apparatus. Since the government kept dragging its feet, the High Court judges asked it a year ago to set a timetable for the demolition.
Since" the formation of the Netanyahu government, settlement leaders aided by ministers Moshe Ayalon and Limor Livnat have exerted consistent pressure on the Justice Ministry to find legal justification for preserving the houses in question.
"Their pressure reaped rewards with yesterday's government announcement that before the demolition is carried out, the state intends to examine whether the areas fall under the category of state land, or are whether they are under private Palestinian ownership.
"The state also said that even if the outposts are razed, it would need another six months to complete the evacuation of residents there, due to the fact that law enforcement agents are bogged down these days by monitoring the settlement freeze. The announcement means in effect that the demolition will be postponed to an unspecified date, and may never be carried out at all.
"If the investigation reveals that the area is indeed state land, the government may choose to retroactively authorize the homes, as it did on numerous occasions across the West Bank. If the land is privately owned by Palestinians, the state will be forced to either raze the structures or find some other creative solution to allow them to remain..."
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