As a result of Regavim's Supreme Court petition against an illegal agricultural compound near Rumat al Heib in the Galilee, the government declared to evacuate squatters and enforce demolition orders in the coming months.
The compound in question was built by a family notorious among the Galilee's farmers. In 2012, this family seized land registered to the Israel Land Authority near Rumat al Heib. They set up a farming compound, complete with a number of barns and other agricultural and industrial structures. Beginning in 2012, the Regavim Movement to protect Israel's resources and lands submitted a seemingly-endless stream of warnings, appeals, and requests to the Israel Land Authority (ILA), to compel enforcement and to obtain information regarding the status of law enforcement procedures at the illegal compound. No response from the ILA was received, but as the years passed, the compound continued to grow and expand; eventually, Regavim took the matter to the Supreme Court.
In a recent hearing on the case, the government declared that demolition orders would be carried out by the Government Collection and Enforcement Authority during the month of August 2019. From the government's response to the Supreme Court, it is clear the ILA took action against the squatters only as a result of Regavim's petition.
Regavim, for its part, agreed to withdraw the petition in light of the government's commitment to enforce the law. In the judgement handed down by Justices Baron, Karra, and Stein, the Court reprimanded the Israel Land Authority for failing to fulfill its obligations under the Freedom of Information Law. "It goes without saying that the respondent (the ILA) must reply to requests submitted by the appellant as a matter of minimum standards of good governance," the Justices noted in their judgement.
"This is a classic case of the official negligence that enables the creeping illegal takeover of state land," says Regavim Northern Region Field Coordinator Chezi Eyal. "We applaud the outcome of this petition, but the fact that we had to take the matter all the way to the Supreme Court to compel the authorities to carry out their duties is regrettable. This petition further reinforces the responsibility of State authorities to provide timely and complete responses to Freedom of Information requests, as required by law."