The Supreme Court handed down a dramatic ruling today on the legality of the fence being built north and northwest of Jerusalem near Mevaseret Zion. The Court ruled that some 30 kilometers of the fence as planned by the Defense Ministry are not acceptable, and will have to be re-routed. The Court approved some ten kilometers of the fence's planned route.
The ruling states that the counter-terrorism fence is acceptable in principle, but not in the manner in which it was planned in practice. An abstract of the judgment was provided by the High Court Administration Spokesperson's Office and can be seen at http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=21372. The full decision can be read at the Supreme Court's website, http://www.court.gov.il.
Atty. Dachleh, representing the Arabs who petitioned against the route, said this morning, "This was a very courageous decision, saying that [most] of the fence is not legal, meaning that the army can't build it... Chief Justice Barak said that even security considerations do not justify putting Palestinians in jail cells... No, I wasn't surprised by the decision, as I saw from the beginning that the court was planning to intervene in this security issue, unlike in other cases when it issued a short ruling. But the court here saw what was happening to the residents, and ruled that to take 50,000 people and separate them from their lands is not acceptable. The Supreme Court ruled that maximum security can't come at the expense of the people, and therefore there must be only an 'appropriate' measure of security."
Netzach Mashiach, head of the Defense Ministry's counter-terrorism fence authority, responded with caution: "We will read and study the ruling, and we will act in accordance. I hope that this decision will not harm the security of the residents of Israel." He said, "We do not have alternative routes; we planned only improvements and changes in order to reach an understanding with the residents... As we approach Jerusalem, it becomes more and more complex to plan an acceptable route."
Gen. (res.) Uzi Dayan, one of the main leaders of the grassroots campaign in favor of a counter-terrorism fence, expressed some bitterness: "This was the result of haste and carelessness, in not having planned a better route... In the south, for instance, nothing has been built or planned yet, and therefore this will taken another few months, and then more legal problems will be encountered - during which time Israel will continue to be exposed to terrorist dangers."
The Court ruled that the State of Israel did not employ maximum consideration for the rights of the Arabs in planning the route. It ordered the immediate cancellation of several land confiscation orders between Givat Ze'ev, north of Jerusalem, and Maccabim, near Modiin.
See comments against the ruling, including by a government minister, an MK, and a former IDF Prosecutor.
The ruling states that the counter-terrorism fence is acceptable in principle, but not in the manner in which it was planned in practice. An abstract of the judgment was provided by the High Court Administration Spokesperson's Office and can be seen at http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=21372. The full decision can be read at the Supreme Court's website, http://www.court.gov.il.
Atty. Dachleh, representing the Arabs who petitioned against the route, said this morning, "This was a very courageous decision, saying that [most] of the fence is not legal, meaning that the army can't build it... Chief Justice Barak said that even security considerations do not justify putting Palestinians in jail cells... No, I wasn't surprised by the decision, as I saw from the beginning that the court was planning to intervene in this security issue, unlike in other cases when it issued a short ruling. But the court here saw what was happening to the residents, and ruled that to take 50,000 people and separate them from their lands is not acceptable. The Supreme Court ruled that maximum security can't come at the expense of the people, and therefore there must be only an 'appropriate' measure of security."
Netzach Mashiach, head of the Defense Ministry's counter-terrorism fence authority, responded with caution: "We will read and study the ruling, and we will act in accordance. I hope that this decision will not harm the security of the residents of Israel." He said, "We do not have alternative routes; we planned only improvements and changes in order to reach an understanding with the residents... As we approach Jerusalem, it becomes more and more complex to plan an acceptable route."
Gen. (res.) Uzi Dayan, one of the main leaders of the grassroots campaign in favor of a counter-terrorism fence, expressed some bitterness: "This was the result of haste and carelessness, in not having planned a better route... In the south, for instance, nothing has been built or planned yet, and therefore this will taken another few months, and then more legal problems will be encountered - during which time Israel will continue to be exposed to terrorist dangers."
The Court ruled that the State of Israel did not employ maximum consideration for the rights of the Arabs in planning the route. It ordered the immediate cancellation of several land confiscation orders between Givat Ze'ev, north of Jerusalem, and Maccabim, near Modiin.
See comments against the ruling, including by a government minister, an MK, and a former IDF Prosecutor.