Yesh Din
Volunteers for Human Rights
Following Yesh Din petition: HCJ issues temporary injunction halting illegal construction on privately-owned Palestinian land near Migron outpost
Three permanent constructs are being built near the Migron outpost – on the private and registered lands of residents of the Palestinian village of Burka. The landowners petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice, and HCJ Justice Danziger ordered the Binyamin Regional Council and Migron Association to stop all construction
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Israeli High Court Justice Yoram Danziger issued today (Wednesday) a temporary injunction following a petition filed by Palestinian residents of the West Bank village of Burka with the assistance of human rights group Yesh Din, requesting that the court enforce the stop-work orders issued for three constructs being built on their private land. The petitioners demand that the court order the authorities to issue demolition orders for the illegal constructs – and to execute the orders immediately.
The petition focuses on three permanent structures which are in the process of construction on land owned by Mustafa and Mahmoud Alian, residents of the village of Burka, near the illegal outpost of Migron.
In his ruling, Justice Danziger ordered the Binyamin Regional Council and the Association of Migron to abstain from conducting any work on the three buildings, including connecting the buildings to infrastructure and inhabiting them. He also ordered all parties to respond to the petition by June 2nd, 2011.
The construction is carried out illegally. There were no building permits issued, nor a valid plan. The construction is carried out in violation of stop-work orders. Finally, and most importantly, the construction is on privately-owned Palestinian lands, which are registered in the West Bank Properties Registry.
The petition, filed by attorneys Michael Sfard, Shlomy Zachary, Avisar Lev and Mohammad Shuqir of the Yesh Din legal team, states that like other cases of illegal Israeli construction on private Palestinian land in the West Bank, the law enforcement authorities turn a blind eye to the land-theft, while the Palestinian landowners are prevented from accessing their property and safeguarding it from criminal use.
This is not the first petition regarding the illegal outpost of Migron. In 2006, Peace Now petitioned the HCJ on behalf of Palestinians who own the land Migron was erected upon – after it became apparent that the authorities were not going to enforce the demolition orders issued for the outpost.
"In their response to the first Migron petition, the authorities recognized the illegality of the outpost, and made several promises to dismantle it – which were never actualized", says attorney Avisar Lev of the Yesh Din legal team. "Today, not only is the outpost still there – it is expanding daily, and the authorities are doing nothing. We demand that the court intervenes, to ensure that the landowners' property will not be usurped".
This week the HCJ rejected a separate petition filed by Palestinian residents of the village of Jaba with the assistance of rights groups Yesh Din and Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights. The petition challenged a new neighborhood under construction in the settlement of Geva-Binyamin, which is built to house the residents of Migron, should the outpost be dismantled and vacated. Yesh Din director, Haim Erlich, expressed concern that after the legal proceedings are over, the new neighborhood in Geva-Binyamin will be erected while the outpost of Migron will not be dismantled – causing greater damage to the property rights of Palestinian residents of the area.
The petition focuses on three permanent structures which are in the process of construction on land owned by Mustafa and Mahmoud Alian, residents of the village of Burka, near the illegal outpost of Migron.
In his ruling, Justice Danziger ordered the Binyamin Regional Council and the Association of Migron to abstain from conducting any work on the three buildings, including connecting the buildings to infrastructure and inhabiting them. He also ordered all parties to respond to the petition by June 2nd, 2011.
The construction is carried out illegally. There were no building permits issued, nor a valid plan. The construction is carried out in violation of stop-work orders. Finally, and most importantly, the construction is on privately-owned Palestinian lands, which are registered in the West Bank Properties Registry.
The petition, filed by attorneys Michael Sfard, Shlomy Zachary, Avisar Lev and Mohammad Shuqir of the Yesh Din legal team, states that like other cases of illegal Israeli construction on private Palestinian land in the West Bank, the law enforcement authorities turn a blind eye to the land-theft, while the Palestinian landowners are prevented from accessing their property and safeguarding it from criminal use.
This is not the first petition regarding the illegal outpost of Migron. In 2006, Peace Now petitioned the HCJ on behalf of Palestinians who own the land Migron was erected upon – after it became apparent that the authorities were not going to enforce the demolition orders issued for the outpost.
"In their response to the first Migron petition, the authorities recognized the illegality of the outpost, and made several promises to dismantle it – which were never actualized", says attorney Avisar Lev of the Yesh Din legal team. "Today, not only is the outpost still there – it is expanding daily, and the authorities are doing nothing. We demand that the court intervenes, to ensure that the landowners' property will not be usurped".
This week the HCJ rejected a separate petition filed by Palestinian residents of the village of Jaba with the assistance of rights groups Yesh Din and Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights. The petition challenged a new neighborhood under construction in the settlement of Geva-Binyamin, which is built to house the residents of Migron, should the outpost be dismantled and vacated. Yesh Din director, Haim Erlich, expressed concern that after the legal proceedings are over, the new neighborhood in Geva-Binyamin will be erected while the outpost of Migron will not be dismantled – causing greater damage to the property rights of Palestinian residents of the area.