Supreme Court Chief Justice Dorit Beinish.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Dorit Beinish.Israel news photo: (file)

Senior members of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government and dozens of Knesset Members – 38 in all – sent a letter to Netanyahu Tuesday demanding that he reverse his policy, according to which Jewish houses built on privately owned land in Judea and Samaria will be razed.

The Supreme Court under President Dorit Beinisch determined that the term "private property" includes any parcel that is not state property, even if there is no claim of ownership to it by a private individual.

The Court's recent decisions in this matter require a massive demolition drive against Jews in Judea and Samaria after the holiday season, and are seen by nationalist observers as a parting shot by Beinisch, who is retiring in February.

"These criteria discriminate against the settlers and they must be changed to rules that grant compensation to the land owners, as is common practice in Israel and the entire world," the letter said.

The ministers and MKs call upon Netanyahu "to defend the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria from those who persecute it under the guise of 'the rule of law', and to instruct the professional tiers to try every legal means possible in order to prevent further demolitions in Judea and Samaria."

Signatories include ministers Eli Yishai, Yuli Edelstein, Daniel Hershkovitz, Yaakov Mergi and Yossi Peled, as well as MKs from Likud, Shas, Yisrael Beitenu, National Union, Jewish Home and UTJ.

Minister Limor Livnat revealed Monday, in an Arutz Sheva exclusive interview that following her request, that Netanyahu instructed Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman to appoint a legal team that would find ways of blunting the edge of Beinisch's decrees.