Right jubilant over Beit Yehonatan order blunder

After Jerusalem Municipality announced cancellation of evacuation and sealing orders to Silwan neighborhood's Beit Yehonatan, many supporters arrive at building, including city council members who take opportunity to speak out against municipal legal advisor

Ronen Medzini|Published: 02.08.10 , 12:18

The lack of coordination between the Jerusalem Municipality and the Police that prevented the distribution of evacuation and sealing orders on Monday to Beit Yehonatan in east Jerusalem has evoked great joy among the building's residents and right-wing activists who arrived on the site to celebrate the blunder.

Following the municipality's announcement that distribution of the orders would be cancelled, dozens of youth and supporters flooded the area to show their solidarity. They sang and danced and waved signs that read "If I forget thee Jerusalem, let my right hand in wither."

A number of city council members and right-wing activists joined the celebrations. Among them was Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem David Hadari (National Union-National Religious Party), who said that there is "unmitigated legal pressure on the mayor to carry out the order."

Celebrating near Beit Yehonatan (Photo: Noam Moskowitz)

Hadari came out against the municipal legal advisor, Attorney Yossi Havilio, who, according to Hadari, is one-sidedly promoting the evacuation and sealing off of Beit Yehonatan.

"The legal advisor does not set policy. We are the ones elected by the public," said Hadari. "What truly disturbs public order are the other building offenses here in the green spaces. It cannot be that that first and foremost they will take revenge on this house while ignoring the rest of the illegal building here."

City councilman, Attorney Elisha Peleg (Likud) added, "We do not distinguish between Jews and Arabs, but between those who abide by the law. We came to show our protest against the municipality's move when it announced it would carry out the order against the house while no steps were taken against hundreds of houses nearby. There is a lack of egalitarianism here. There is no fair enforcement here."

In contrast to the jubilation on the Right, the municipality's announcement aroused the anger of the Left in the capital. "If the police's announcement that the Jerusalem Municipality did not coordinate with them the distribution of the orders is true, then this is horrible. If it is false, this is even worse," said Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Peppe Alalo (Meretz) to Ynet.

According to him, "The entire farce and management of this issue damages democracy and the rule of law. This here is discrimination against the residents of the east of the city, where dozens of their homes have been destroyed since the order was issued."