Supreme Court
Supreme CourtHadas Porush, Flash 90

An expanded panel of nine Supreme Court justices is expected to hear today, Sunday, two petitions filed last year against the Regulation Law.

The judges will be Chief Justice Esther Hayut, Deputy Chief Justice Hanan Meltzer and Judges Neil Hendel, Uzi Fogelman, Yitzhak Amit, Noam Solberg, Dafna Barak-Erez, Meni Mazuz and Anat Baron.

The Regulation Law legalizes and protects thousands of Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria which were built with government backing and lacked absentee land claims, but against which there are now property claims.

In February 2017, the law passed second and third readings in the Knesset by a majority of 60 to 52.

In August of that year, Supreme Court Justice Neal Hendel issued a temporary interim injunction against the Regulation Law until rulings on a series of petitions filed against the law by left-wing organizations and Palestinian Arab organizations were given.

Attorney General Dr. Avichai Mandelblit announced that he would not defend the law in the Supreme Court, asserting that it violates Basic Laws.

The government's position in the hearing is represented by attorney Dr. Harel Arnon. Over the weekend, the government submitted its response regarding the law, stating that the law was intended for a worthy purpose and should not be disqualified. "The main purpose of the law is to remove, once and for all, the cloud of stagnation and uncertainty that hangs over entire communities, some of them advanced in years," the response said.

"The government of Israel believes that the demolition of thousands of structures in the area and the eviction of the families - men, women and children - even if the reason is legal defects in their establishment, including deviations to private land - is a scenario that should be avoided even at the cost of infringing on the right of property of private individuals."