High Court rules to evacuate three illegal outposts
Government must act within six months; Supreme Court president launches scathing critique of West Bank construction policies
The Israeli High Court of Justice instructed the government Monday to evacuate three outposts built on private Palestinian land in the West Bank.
The order to demolish the Givat Assaf, Maale Rehavam and Mitzpeh Yitzhar within six months came in response to charges filed by Peace Now in 2007.
In addition to responding to the order, the government must also clarify the legal status of three additional outposts — Givat Haroeh, Mitzpeh Lachish and Ramat Gilad — within six months.
Following the ruling, members of the High Court harshly criticized the state’s hazy construction policies in the West Bank.
“The state’s conduct with regard to building on land that is not private is also unsatisfactory,” court president Asher Grunis said Monday. “At first, the state claimed for two years that the political leadership did not adopt a resolution as to whether it intends to regulate construction or not. After a long time, they decided to examine the possibility of regulating the building in outposts that can be [regulated], read: for outposts that turn out to be on state land. With that, even after adopting that decision, the process of regulation is slow and all the while the state continues and extends those outposts’ demarcations. Our opinion is that the time has come to instruct the state to meet its obligations and fulfill them.”
Givat Assaf, located outside of Beit El, is the largest of the three outposts, with 25 families permanently residing there. Givat Assaf and Maale Rehavam were founded in 2001, and Mitzpeh Yitzhar was founded in 2002.
“The decision to order the evacuation of the buildings in Judea and Samaria, even if built illegally and on private land, is a difficult decision,” the judges wrote in the court decision. “Particularly due to the effects of the evacuation on the residents, since this is often the only roof over their head.”
As part of the decision, the High Court also ruled that the Israeli government must compensate Peace Now with NIS 25,000 in court fees.
