Barkat. Wanted delay
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Havilio: Delay against the law
State: Clear Beit Yehonatan immediately
Prosecution says it dismisses Jerusalem mayor's appeal to delay sealing of house as 'suggestion'
The State Prosecutor's Office called for the immediate evacuation and sealing of Beit Yehonatan Thursday,
despite Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat's efforts to
the contrary.
The prosecution was responding to a petition on the matter formulated by a number of Meretz MKs, who demanded the immediate clearing of the Jewish structure, located in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.
Earlier
Ronen Medzini
Municipal inspectors take measurements at Jewish building in east Jerusalem neighborhood, apparently ahead of execution of eviction, enclosure orders
The response says orders to evacuate the structure had been approved by all legal parties involved, including the municipality's own legal adviser, and that Jerusalem's authorities must honor the orders in an effort to set an example for civilians.
It adds that police are willing to assist inspectors in sealing the house. Regarding the security hazards faced by its residents, the state said it would continue to provide them with guards until their evacuation.
The state also stressed that the order should not be affected in any way by politics or politicians. This was said in response to Barkat, who opined that the orders should not be carried out until a comprehensive settlement was reached in Silwan.
"This intervention undermines the value of equality before the law and the rule of law, and harms the prosecution's independence in general as well as its independence in the fields of planning and construction," the prosecution said.
"If the mayor acknowledges the basic authority of law enforcement agents to schedule a date in which to carry out the orders, then we must dismiss what he says in response to the petition as an attempt to influence the local law enforcement system, and a suggestion at most."
Jerusalem Municipality's legal advisor Attorney Yossi Havilio also wrote a response to the petition, and said failure to carry out the orders "is against the law and mortally wounds the rule of law, as well as enforcement and deterrence capabilities".
Havilio added that Barkat's appeal to police to postpone the evacuation goes against his position as mayor as it is a court order necessitating immediate action.
