Court fines contractors for illegal road to settlement
Two construction firms to be fined NIS 100,000 for breaching Palestinian enclave to allow ambulances into settlement. However, judges declare route temporarily legal
The High Court of Justice has fined two construction companies NIS 100,000 (USD 23,600) each after finding them guilty of violating a High Court order prohibiting construction in the area in question and breaching a Palestinian enclave to lay down a route for emergency vehicles near Modiin.
The court junction prohibiting construction was issued following a petition submitted by the Peace Now movement, who claimed that the planned development of the area would prevent Palestinians from accessing their lands.
The High Court instructed the contractors to immediately halt their work and restore the enclaves as they were before construction began. The companies were also required to submit new blueprints for the development of the area that would allow access to the Palestinian lands through an open public area.
The companies indeed corrected the changes to the enclaves upon the renewal of construction but in doing so blocked a route used by one of the nearby settements as an access route for emergency vehicles.
To continue to allow passage, the companies lay down a makeshift route that breached one of the enclaves.
The contractors petitioned the High Court, saying that they had complied with all of the demands and limitations set by the juncture but asked that the development limitations be modified to include the paving of an additional road that would lead to the route breaching the enclave.
The State Prosecutor's Office took a harsh stance against the unauthorized route during the proceedings but agreed that a blocking it immediately could create a dangerously problematic situation. Therefore, the unauthorized route should receive a temporary legal status rendering it lawful until the construction of an alternative road is complete.
A panel of High Court justices agreed with the state's proposed temporary solution but still fined the companies NIS 100,000 for violating the High Court juncture and breaching the enclave.
