The High Court on Monday hinted that it will reject a Peace Now petition to destroy the Gush Etzion community of Netiv Ha’Avot before the government decides if the land belongs to the state or Arabs.
The three-judge panel gave Peace Now attorneys 21 days to explain why the court should not wait for the government to complete a land survey.
Lawyers for Peace now and for the residents found themselves in agreement one issue. Both sides want the government to complete its survey as soon as possible. Attorney Yaron Kostelitz, representing the Gush Etzion community, told Israel National News that he is confident that Arabs have no legal claim to the land.
Justice Edmund Levy hinted to Peace Now lawyers that the court will wait for the survey, regardless of Peace Now’s reply to the government’s testimony on Sunday that it may allow the homes to remain standing if it concludes that they were built on state land. The homes were built before all of the necessary authorizations were received, as was done with hundreds of other homes in Judea and Samaria, where paperwork and bureaucracy often can drag out the approval process for years.
Justice Levy asked the Peace Now lawyers, ”Is there any reason to consider the appeal?” following the government’s declaration it will determine who owns the land. The comment was a clear suggestion that the court will not accept the appeal until the government completes its survey, which could take weeks or months.
The government originally said it would demolish the homes but reconsidered after realizing that the homes may have been built on government land.