Israel Matzav

Supreme Court orders Migron 'dismantled'

The Supreme Court has rejected a compromise and ordered the Jewish residents of the village of Migron expelled no later than August 1. Knesset members are already organizing to legislatively overturn the court's ruling.

The court ruling is an obligation, not a choice, Supreme Court President Asher Dan Grunis said.

"This is a necessary component of the rule of law to which all are subject, as part of Israel's values as a Jewish and democratic state," Grunis added.

Migron residents may harbor justified resentment against the state and its authorities, Grunis said.

However, the Supreme Court President said that the state had made it clear all along that settlements cannot be built on private Palestinian land - something that Begin himself had clarified in Thursday's hearing, the justices added.

"As the state has made clear, no body is authorized to permit the establishment of a settlement on private land," they said.

In Sunday's court ruling, the justices cited former Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch's words at the end of the court's August 2011 ruling.

“We can only wish that the residents of the outpost will come to their senses and agree to accept their duty not to appear as lawbreakers, and that they will settle any other site that the state deems fit to allow them,” Beinisch had written.

...

civil rights group the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel slammed the court.

"The High Court justices could have made a decision to avoid conflict in Israeli society," said Forum director attorney Nachi Eyal. "Clearly the court thinks human rights are only for Palestinians, not for Jews."

"What do you expect from a panel containing a justice who won't sing Hatikva?" Eyal added, in a dig at Supreme Court Justice Salim Joubran, who declined to sing the national anthem at Supreme Court President (emeritus) Dorit Beinisch's retirement ceremony.

Eyal called on the Knesset to strengthen legislation to resolve land disputes in the West Bank in different ways.

Right-wing parliamentarians said they planned to turn to the Knesset and urge it to legislate a solution that would nullify the court decision.

Both MK Danny Danon (Likud) and MK Uri Ariel (National Union) called on lawmakers to approve legislation which would legalize all the outposts, including Migron.

Danon said he planned to ask the Knesset to hold a special session on the matter during the Pesach break.

"There is no reason why Jews should be evacuated from their homes under a Likud government," he said.

"We must make use of the responsibility given to use by the people to lead the nation and the settlements in Judea and Samaria according to the values of Ze'ev Jabotinsky and [former prime minister] Menachem Begin," Danon added.

MK Uri Orbach (HaBayit HaYehudi) said the court's judgment clarified the irrelevance of setting a date for new elections.

"There is no need to advance the elections. We should eliminate them. Any which way it is clear that the judges believe they run the country," he said.

Indeed. As I have discussed many times, one of the fundamental problems with 'Israeli democracy' is the self-selected Supreme Court, which believes that it can interject itself into any issue and make any decision it pleases while mouthing pious platitudes about 'protecting Israeli democracy.'

Meanwhile the 'Palestinians' Leftist Jewish attorney was celebrating.

Attorney Michael Sfard, representing the Palestinian petitioners who claimed ownership of the land, said that by adhering to the compromise agreement the State would be "surrendering" to the Migron settlers. Delayed justice is not justice.

"Today the court made it clear to authorities that no one – including the government and the settlers - is above the law," he said.

No one is above the law, except the 'Supreme Court.'

Labels: Judea and Samaria, Migron, Supreme Court

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:06 PM