The demolition of homes in Migron and Givat Assaf could be stopped if a new bill
proposed by MK Zevulun Orlev (Habayit Hayehudi) and sponsored by 19 MKs from six
other parties is enacted.
According to Orlev’s bill, which will be
brought to a vote at the Ministerial Committee on Legislation on Sunday,
petitions claiming private ownership of land in Jewish settlements may not be
followed with demolition orders if the buildings are standing for over four
years and the settlement has at least 20 families.
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pointless and, even worse, immoral and unjust, especially when the owners [of
the land] do not present evidence and wait so long to submit their petition,”
Orlev explained.
The legislation calls for a balance between the
landowner’s interest – by providing monetary compensation to landowners – and
the public interest by preventing the “unnecessary destruction of innocently
established settlements.”
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni (Kadima) slammed
the bill, saying it sought to “launder” illegal outposts and sent a clear
message to “rock throwers” – a clear reference to settlers and right-wingers who
have been involved in attacks against the IDF, police and Palestinians – that
the coalition was giving in to their demands.
Following the vote in the
Ministerial Committee for Legislation, the initiative will undergo a preliminary
Knesset reading, followed by three more readings, because it is a
privately-drafted bill. The legislation could be brought to a plenum vote
regardless of the Ministerial Committee’s position, but should the government
approve the bill it is much more likely to pass.
Among the MKs sponsoring
the initiative are coalition chairman Ze’ev Elkin (Likud), Israel Beiteinu
faction head Robert Ilatov, National Union leader Ya’acov Katz, as well as
others from those parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas.