The High Court of Justice on Wednesday acceded to the state’s third request to
delay the demolition of five unauthorized apartment buildings under construction
in the Beit El settlement.
The buildings were built without permits on
land classified by the state as private Palestinian property.
In April
2011 the state promised the court it would remove the five structures within a
year. But in April of this year it asked to delay the demolitions until
the end of May in light of the Passover holiday and a number of Palestinian
activist events, including Nakba Day on May 15.
It also said that the
state was weighing the possibility of authorizing buildings plans that would
legalize the structures.
The structures are located outside the area
included in Beit El’s master plan but are within the boundaries of the 1970s
land-seizure order that allowed the IDF to take land from the Palestinian
village of Dura al-Qara for military purposes. Beit El was built on that
land.
Their status is slightly different from that of the five stone
apartment buildings of the Ulpana outpost, which which were located outside the
boundaries covered by the land seizure.
Toward the end of May the state
asked the court for another extension, explaining that it wanted to present the
court with information with respect to the five buildings. The court gave the
state until July 19. The state then asked for another delay.
On Wednesday
the court gave the state an additional month, until August 19, to provide it
with the information. But it also fined the state NIS 5,000 for its
continued delay, which will be awarded to the petitioner.
A Palestinian
resident of Dura al-Qara first petitioned the court against the construction in
December 2010 with assistance from the Israeli legal NGO Yesh Din.