Supreme Court justices on Thursday rejected a request made by Gur hasidim not to be expelled from their synagogue, Kikar Hashabbat reported.
The synagogue, set up in a bomb shelter in the southern city of Arad, had been locked over the weekend to prevent its use.
Last week, a judge in the Be'er Sheva District Court ruled that the bomb shelter must be emptied, but the ruling was not implemented due to the hasidim's decision to appeal to the Supreme Court. According to Kikar Hashabbat, the appeal noted that the hasidim had moved into the shelter over a month ago, and the law mandates that removal must be within 30 days of entry.
However, one neighborhood resident testified that the Gur hasidim had taken over the shelter less than 30 days ago, offering the Supreme Court additional grounds for the appeal and allowing the municipality to close the shelter.
The court also ordered the Gur hasidim to pay 20,000 NIS ($5,724) in legal fees.