OccupationalHazard.org 07.03.05

The Occupation - 07/03/05

Peace Now files first petition
against illegal W. Bank outpost

Yuval Yoaz - Ha'aretz

The first petition against an illegal West Bank settlement outpost was submitted to the High Court of Justice on Sunday morning.
The petitioner, Peace Now, demands that orders be implemented to stop the construction and to demolish illegal houses in the Amona outpost near the Ofra settlement in the West Bank.
The construction of nine illegal private houses is almost complete in Amona. The houses, like the outpost itself, were built without permits on private Palestinian land. So far, however, the authorities have refrained from enforcing the demolition orders they have issued for the houses until after the disengagement.
Meanwhile, nine families are about to move into the houses.
The petition is based on the Sasson Report released some four months ago. According to the report, neither the cabinet nor the defense minister approved of Amona's establishment, and no government or public body allocated lands for it.
Dror Etkes, Director of Peace Now's Settlements Watch Project, visited Amona on Friday and reported that two foreign workers were putting the finishing touches on the houses.
Amona was built in 1995 and today consists of 53 mobile homes, which house 25 families. The Housing Ministry allocated NIS 2.1 million for the outpost's infrastructure despite the fact that it was unauthorized.
"Since the Sasson Report's release, the information about the outposts is no longer secret and the state must do what it has refrained from doing close to 40 years - stop the anarchy in the territories and show the settlers that they are also subject to the law," Etkes said.
Peace Now is asking for an interim injunction to seal the nine houses or otherwise stop people from inhabiting them, as this would make any evacuation much more complicated.
In his petition, attorney Michael Sfard wrote that, "it is like a man watching a thief entering a bank every evening and taking money out. Every evening he calls the police, which does nothing. He has a choice: vigilante enforcement or going to court. We chose the latter."
(C) Copyright Haaretz. All rights reserved

Back to front

Peace Now files first petition against illegal W. Bank outpost
Yuval Yoaz - Ha'aretz





The first petition against an illegal West Bank settlement outpost was submitted to the High Court of Justice on Sunday morning. The petitioner, Peace Now, demands that orders be implemented to stop the construction and to demolish illegal houses in the Amona outpost near the Ofra settlement in the West Bank. The construction of nine illegal private houses is almost complete in Amona. The houses, like the outpost itself, were built without permits on private Palestinian land. So far, however, the authorities have refrained from enforcing the demolition orders they have issued for the houses until after the disengagement. Meanwhile, nine families are about to move into the houses. The petition is based on the Sasson Report released some four months ago. According to the report, neither the cabinet nor the defense minister approved of Amona's establishment, and no government or public body allocated lands for it. Dror Etkes, Director of Peace Now's Settlements Watch Project, visited Amona on Friday and reported that two foreign workers were putting the finishing touches on the houses. Amona was built in 1995 and today consists of 53 mobile homes, which house 25 families. The Housing Ministry allocated NIS 2.1 million for the outpost's infrastructure despite the fact that it was unauthorized. "Since the Sasson Report's release, the information about the outposts is no longer secret and the state must do what it has refrained from doing close to 40 years - stop the anarchy in the territories and show the settlers that they are also subject to the law," Etkes said. Peace Now is asking for an interim injunction to seal the nine houses or otherwise stop people from inhabiting them, as this would make any evacuation much more complicated. In his petition, attorney Michael Sfard wrote that, "it is like a man watching a thief entering a bank every evening and taking money out. Every evening he calls the police, which does nothing. He has a choice: vigilante enforcement or going to court. We chose the latter." (C) Copyright Haaretz. All rights reserved
Back to front