High Court rejects state’s appeal to delay Amona evacuation
Judges rule outpost’s demolition must go ahead as scheduled next month, say rule of law cannot succumb to threats of violence
The High Court of Justice on Monday denied a request by the government to postpone the evacuation of the Amona outpost, which was ordered by the court some two years ago.
“The evacuation must occur before December 25,” the court said in its ruling, the latest twist in an incendiary battle between Israel’s judiciary and the right-wing governing coalition. “The court rejects the delay requested by the state.”
After over a decade of delays and legal wrangling, the High Court ruled in 2014 that the outpost, which lies east of Ramallah, was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished by December 25. The impending evacuation has threatened to destabilize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, which relies heavily on the pro-settlement right.
Earlier this month, the government asked the court to defer the demolition order by a further seven months. Meantime, the government has been trying to formulate legislation to outflank the court, but is now being opposed on that track by its own chief legal official, Atorney General Avichai Mandelblit.
“In this case, as with previous ones, we have been asked ‘at the last minute’ to extend the date of an evacuation that was set by a judgment,” the court said in a statement on Monday. “It appears that any time limit given, generous as it may be, is not enough (for the government). We must be careful not to allow deadlines set in rulings to become recommendations” rather than orders.
The government requested the extension to give it time to reach to an agreement with the residents of Amona for a peaceful evacuation.
But Supreme Court President Miriam Naor, along with justices Esther Hayut and Hanan Melcer, were not convinced that the threat of violence justified a change of plans, saying such action would only serve to prove that such threats could prevent court rulings from being carried out.
“This is a message that is unacceptable in a state governed by rule of law,” the said.
On Sunday ministers gave their backing to a bill that would recognize some illegal building in the West Bank, overriding the objections of Netanyahu and Attorney General Mandelblit.
The so-called Regulation Bill was designed to avert the court-ordered demolition of the outpost and was brought to a vote despite efforts by the prime minister to delay it and repeated statements from Mandelblit that the legislation runs contrary to international law and would be indefensible in the High Court of Justice.
Netanyahu had warned that advancing the bill would likely lead the High Court to reject the government’s appeal to further stall the demolition of the outpost.
