The High Court of Justice recently rejected a petition filed by settlers of Kfar
Adumim demanding the demolition of a nearby Beduin “tire school.”
The
school services a community of Beduin, most of whose homes are marked for
eventual demolition, and it is ecologically built of mud and used car
tires.
The petitioners had demanded that the court order the IDF to carry
out the demolitions in the near future, as opposed to on whatever later date the
IDF might theoretically carry them out in the course of following its own
procedures.
Although the court recognized the petitioners’ claim that the
Beduin community is likely eventually to be demolished, the court declined to
intervene and second-guess the IDF on the timing of the demolition.
In
fact, the court said that the judicial branch only intervenes in issues such as
timing, which are firmly within the IDF’s operational discretion, in the most
extenuating circumstances or where the IDF’s delay is so long as to be
unjustifiable.
Moreover, as long as the community would be residing in
the area, and the IDF has no near-term plans for removing the community, the
court said there was no reason to block the community’s access to education by
demolishing the school it has been using for years, illegally built or
not.
Noting that the IDF expressed an interest in removing the community
through a “peaceful process,” the court said that there was no reason for it to
attack such an IDF decision.
The court even ironically noted Migron as an
example where it gave the IDF and the government significant amounts of time and
a wide latitude for delay, as a basis for deferring to the IDF about the timing
of the demolitions in this case.
Next, the court added that while the
school was technically illegally built, it was not actually directly or
immediately impinging on the settlers or anyone else, obviating the need for an
immediate demolition.
The Jahalin Association, which defended against the
petition, issued a press release saying the school is an “iconic” building and
symbol for the area’s Beduin community, and the only permanent structure in the
West Bank Beduin village of al-Khan al-Ahmar.
The school is attended by
roughly 95 Beduin children (grades 1-7) who are residents of the adjacent hut
village al- Khan al-Ahmar, it said. Further, the Jahalin Beduin community has
been “residing in the area for over 60 years.”
The initial hearing on the
case was September 13, but the court only gave its decision last
week.
“The court backed the Civil Administration regarding the
displacement of the community,” said Shlomo Lecker, lawyer for the Jahalin. “But
for the time being, at least until next year, the demolition orders will not be
enforced. In addition, the judges repeatedly urged the IDF to initiate dialogue
with the Jahalin community on finding a peaceful planning
alternative.”
Al-Khan al-Ahmar spokesman Eid Abu Khamis Jahalin
commented: “I am pleased with the Supreme Court and I think its decision is a
good one. The judges did not rule in favor of the settlers who were pushing for
the immediate demolition of the school.”