The Supreme Court rejected this morning a petition against the removal of three structures in the Givat Assaf outpost between Beit El and Ofrah. The petition was submitted by the 14 resident families, the Amanah Settlement Organization, and the Beit El Local Council.
The neighborhood was built three years ago, following the terrorist murder of Assaf Hershkovitz, 31, father of two children, aged 2 and 4. Assaf's father Aryeh had been similarly killed in a roadside terrorist murder north of Jerusalem just three months earlier. In response to Assaf's murder, residents of nearby Beit El established a new neighborhood very close to the site, in accordance with the ideal that the best response to terrorism is the further expansion of Jewish presence in the Land of Israel.
Givat Assaf, which has since grown to 14 families, and also boasts a ritual bath and a synagogue, is strategically located at a critically important spot along the highway leading from Jerusalem northwards to Binyamin and the Shomron. It is situated at the westward turnoff to Beit El, and represents the only Jewish point on the highway between the turnoff to Psagot and Ofrah, as well as the only Israeli spot on the four-kilometer road to Beit El.
Today's ruling deals with three caravans - mobile homes without wheels - that were stationed atop the Givat Assaf hilltop. The units in question are on Jewish-purchased land, but outside the neighborhood's demarcation lines as determined by the army - and the Supreme Court ruled today that the residents had not proven their ownership of the land. In accordance with the ruling, the Civil Administration is now permitted to remove the structures. The last time it tried to do this however, one month ago, it met up with the sudden presence of close to 2,000 people, and gave up the fight.
Beit El Mayor Moshe Rosenbaum said at the beginning of the trial that the area was "purchased from its Arab owners for a hefty sum of money, but the Civil Administration refuses to register the land in the purchasers' names. This court case is in order to force the Administration to do that." It did not work, however.
The court's ruling is the third consecutive Supreme Court ruling against Jewish neighborhoods in Yesha. It recently ruled that Gilad Farm near Karnei Shomron, as well as 17-family Givat HaRoeh near Shilo, are both eligible for demolishing. The army apparently has plans to attempt to demolish all three points at the same time, a few days after the Sukkot holiday.
Givat Assaf resident Eldad Sorek says that he, his neighbors, and the thousands of residents of areas near and far do not plan to give in, and will ensure that thousands of people arrive - as they did last time - as soon as word of the army's plans is learned.
"We have a very large public behind us," Sorek said, "and we'll bring them here, and it will be a struggle unprecedented in intensity. This is a very critical intersection - everyone who lives in this area recognizes this fact - and we won't give up even a meter... Last time, we were very surprised, yet we were still able to bring all these people within two hours." He said that immediately following the Sukkot holiday, "we will have a large hakafot shniyot event, at which we'll update our instant text-message lists, and raise money and awareness against all these destructive plans of the Prime Minister, who has totally lost his direction."
The neighborhood was built three years ago, following the terrorist murder of Assaf Hershkovitz, 31, father of two children, aged 2 and 4. Assaf's father Aryeh had been similarly killed in a roadside terrorist murder north of Jerusalem just three months earlier. In response to Assaf's murder, residents of nearby Beit El established a new neighborhood very close to the site, in accordance with the ideal that the best response to terrorism is the further expansion of Jewish presence in the Land of Israel.
Givat Assaf, which has since grown to 14 families, and also boasts a ritual bath and a synagogue, is strategically located at a critically important spot along the highway leading from Jerusalem northwards to Binyamin and the Shomron. It is situated at the westward turnoff to Beit El, and represents the only Jewish point on the highway between the turnoff to Psagot and Ofrah, as well as the only Israeli spot on the four-kilometer road to Beit El.
Today's ruling deals with three caravans - mobile homes without wheels - that were stationed atop the Givat Assaf hilltop. The units in question are on Jewish-purchased land, but outside the neighborhood's demarcation lines as determined by the army - and the Supreme Court ruled today that the residents had not proven their ownership of the land. In accordance with the ruling, the Civil Administration is now permitted to remove the structures. The last time it tried to do this however, one month ago, it met up with the sudden presence of close to 2,000 people, and gave up the fight.
Beit El Mayor Moshe Rosenbaum said at the beginning of the trial that the area was "purchased from its Arab owners for a hefty sum of money, but the Civil Administration refuses to register the land in the purchasers' names. This court case is in order to force the Administration to do that." It did not work, however.
The court's ruling is the third consecutive Supreme Court ruling against Jewish neighborhoods in Yesha. It recently ruled that Gilad Farm near Karnei Shomron, as well as 17-family Givat HaRoeh near Shilo, are both eligible for demolishing. The army apparently has plans to attempt to demolish all three points at the same time, a few days after the Sukkot holiday.
Givat Assaf resident Eldad Sorek says that he, his neighbors, and the thousands of residents of areas near and far do not plan to give in, and will ensure that thousands of people arrive - as they did last time - as soon as word of the army's plans is learned.
"We have a very large public behind us," Sorek said, "and we'll bring them here, and it will be a struggle unprecedented in intensity. This is a very critical intersection - everyone who lives in this area recognizes this fact - and we won't give up even a meter... Last time, we were very surprised, yet we were still able to bring all these people within two hours." He said that immediately following the Sukkot holiday, "we will have a large hakafot shniyot event, at which we'll update our instant text-message lists, and raise money and awareness against all these destructive plans of the Prime Minister, who has totally lost his direction."