The Israeli Supreme Court issued a conditional order Sunday night in the most recent round of the Khan al Ahmar case.
Sunday’s order, giving the government 120 days to explain its failure to fulfill the three-year old commitment to enforce the law “in the near future,” follows the government’s most recent request for an additional postponement
“In light of the frequent requests for extensions and postponements, some of which were justified but most of which were less so; and in light of the amount of time that this petition has been pending, nearly three years; and in light of the fact that this ‘saga’ has been unfolding since 2009 when demolition orders were issued,” the court wrote.
“We are forced at this juncture to take a further step toward a conclusion, by issuing a conditional order."
The Regavim Movement, petitioner in the ongoing battle over the illegal encampment in the Adumim region, reacted to the new order: “The fact that we have been forced to petition the High Court of Justice again and again in order to compel the government to enforce the law is bad enough. Even worse is the government repeatedly giving a commitment to the High Court that it will enforce the law- and then failing to do so. It is not the job of the judicial branch to bail the executive branch out of the mess it’s made.”
The case revolves around an illegal Bedouin encampment in the Adumim bloc, east of Jerusalem, which was built on Israeli state land.
The Khan al Ahmar encampment is home to some 80 families, and has been slated for demolition for years, following a lengthy appeals process, culminating in a Supreme Court ruling against the illegal settlement.