Court delays construction of Negev base complex
High Court overturns decision by Beersheba District Court, grants green groups' petition to halt construction on IDF training base complex near Ramat Hovav pending full environmental survey
The Israeli environmental groups have won an important – even if partial – victory recently in their fight against building an IDF training base complex in the Ramat Hovav, in the Negev.
The High Court decided last week to grant a petition filed by the Israel Union for Environment Defense (IUED) and Green Course, calling for an environmental survey to be preformed on the possible effects of the new base complex on the local environment and wildlife, ruling that the Defense Ministry cease all construction program pending a court review of the survey.
The three-judge panel assigned to the case, headed by Justices Ayala Procaccia, suggested the State perform an environmental survey, and include the possible effects the existing industrial area in Ramat Hovav may have on the base complex.
The judges further suggested the survey "be made public" in a way acceptable on both parties – a decision favored by the environmental groups, which want the process of the complex's construction to be as transparent to the public as possible.
The judges gave the State 14 days to study the possibility of conducting a survey. Should the State choose to refuse, it would have to offer the court an explanation as to why.
By granting the petition, the High Court overruled a previous ruling by the Beersheba District Court, which denied a similar petition in late 2007.
Bone of contention
The Beersheba District Court ruled in favor of the Defense Ministry, which claimed that a survey preformed by the Environmental Protection Ministry offered sufficient data on the question of whether or not the land chosen for the base complex was suitable for the project.
Ynet has learned that Defense Ministry director-general Pinhas Buchris is scheduled to meet with Shamai Assif, head of the Interior Ministry's planning administration, in order to begin the proceedings needed for the complex's construction at the National Council for Planning and Construction.
The State asked the High Court to lift the injunction placed on the construction, but Justices Procaccia refused, saying that since the project is funded by the tax payers, the work cannot commence until the all legal recourses have been exhausted.
Tzipi Isar-Itzik, attorney for IUED was pleased with the decision told Ynet that the court "has proven once more that it is the keeper of the public interest and the public's right to a suitable environment."
Eli Assa of Green Course welcomed the ruling as well: "We're happy that a decision addressing the need to deal with the pollution issues in the area."
The Defense Ministry offered the following: "As previously stated, all necessary measures to ensure the safety of IDF soldiers will be taken. The inspection and enforcement committee over Ramat Hovav, put in place by the Defense Ministry and the environmental groups, will continue to ensure that all factories reach the desirable code agreed upon."
