The government submitted Monday its response to the petitions by leftist organizations against the Regulation Law.
The government's position, as submitted to the Supreme Court, is that the Regulation Law is in accordance with both Israeli and international law.
"The Israeli government rejects the petitioners' attempt to intimidate the government and its officials on the grounds that the law constitutes a violation of international law," the government's response states. "The Israeli government rejects the attempt to impose on the State of Israel different and more stringent standards than those accepted in the world."
The government detailed in its reply that under the Regulation Law, an unprecedented generous payment or alternative land will be granted to the proven owners of the land, whichever they choose. "This provides them with an improved response to expropriation procedures for public needs in Israel."
"The law actually provides a proportionate and reasonable human response to the real distress of Israeli residents who have built their homed with government support over the years and give Palestinian landowners the opportunity to receive adequate compensation for their rights," the response continued.
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"In effect, the law improves the situation of the landowners in relation to the current situation in which they are without land, without compensation and without the possibility of conducting sales transactions, because of racist legislation of the Palestinian Authority which imposes the death penalty in the event of the sale of land to Jews.
The Government's response further stated that "the Government of Israel believes that preventing the evacuation of and facilitating the regulation of the homes of hundreds of Israeli families is a national, social, political and human interest of the highest order."
In its response, the government, represented by Adv. Dr. Harel Arnon, a graduate of Harvard University and a leading expert on constitutional law and Judea and Samaria law, said that the uprooting of Jewish communities has dramatic implications. "For years, the status of these settlements and neighborhoods has been in limbo. Their regulation is required and is the primary obligation of the Israeli government towards law-abiding citizens who have been forced to live in uncertainty and with the freezing [of their lives] after relying in good faith on governmental promises."
"The Government of Israel believes that the Honorable Court will also be able to maintain restraint and allow the elected government to realize its policy and bring a balanced and proportional solution to an impossible reality for all populations, a reality that the successive Israeli governments have been partners in."
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said that "the law regulates the plight of thousands of Israeli families whose homes are in danger of being demolished and frozen by the temporary expropriation of the right to a permanent settlement."
"The law recognizes that injustice is not solved by doing another injustice. The law will allow for the regulation of land in Judea and Samaria and prevent painful and unnecessary expulsions which are unacceptable in a sovereign state, displacement in a sovereign state, as well as provide landowners with the option to choose between increased monetary compensation and alternative land.
"The infringement of property rights is proportionate and is accompanied by a generous indemnity, far more significant than the indemnity currently granted in Israeli law. In addition, the law also provides landowners with the option to choose between increased monetary compensation and alternative land. Today, Palestinian law, by stating that the death penalty is imposed on sellers of land to Jews, does not allow for sale.
According to Shaked, "This minor infringement of property rights is done for the proper purpose of regulating thousands of buildings and preventing harm to thousands of families. I would like to thank Dr. Harel Arnon for his work in explaining the rationale of the Regulation Law. "