Attorney general raises legal concerns with PM’s Ulpana plan

One day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed a three-point-plan for the transfer of the homes in the Givat Ulpana outpost to a nearby hill, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has raised legal concerns about the plan.

In discussions with senior legal officials on Sunday night, Weinstein expressed misgivings about the legality of transferring residential buildings onto a plot of land designated to house a military base. He was, also doubtful about the ramifications of creating legal precedent regarding future evacuation of settlement outposts.

Officials and legal experts debated the problematic nature of the proposed resettlement location, and were unable to give their okay to the prime minister’s plan, as he had hoped.

According to some interpretations of Israeli law, land appropriated for military purposes cannot be used for other intents. Although the land in question was legally acquired by the state, the legal experts are searching for loopholes to permit its use for residential purposes.

Further, there is some concern that the original landowner may decide at some point to lay claim to the land were it to be used for nonmilitary purposes.

The second major legal obstacle to approving the prime minister’s plan is the issue of legal precedent. Netanyahu asked Weinstein to look into the possibility of future petitions from Palestinian landowners if the High Court of Justice ruling demanding the evacuation of the Ulpana neighborhood is carried out. The attorney general emphasized in response that the ruling on Ulpana does not establish binding precedent on that matter, because of the complicated specifics of the case. However, his team of legal experts needs to look into the matter further before approving the plan, he said.

The High Court ruled in May that the Ulpana neighborhood, built on property claimed by Palestinians, was illegally constructed on private land and therefore must be dismantled.

Settlers and politicians from the right reacted with rage to the prime minister’s plan, and numerous protesters have launched a hunger strike  until settlement regularization bills which seek to circumvent the High Court ruling are brought before the Knesset.