_a.jpg "Photo: Gil Yohanan")
Amona outpost (archives)
Photo: Gil Yohanan
State slams West Bank council over Amona construction
In response to Palestinian petition calling for demolition of structures built on confiscated land, State says issue 'not high on list of priorities' because it is focusing on preventing new building projects
The State on Sunday criticized the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, which covers 42 Israeli settlements in the West Bank, over what it claims is illegal construction on Palestinian-owned land.
In its response to a High Court petition filed by Palestinians in 2008, which demanded the implementation of demolition orders issued for illegal structures in the Amona outpost, the State said that since the West Bank construction moratorium went into effect, it is focusing on preventing new building projects, and therefore "the implementation of demolition orders at the (Amona) outpost is not high on the State's list of priorities."
The State said that a few days ago it issued a demolition order for a new illegal structure in Amona.
However, the State said, the fact that it is focusing on stopping new building projects does not justify the confiscation of private Palestinian land.
"The prosecution is asking the court to deny the petition, but this does not take away from the severity of the actions of Amona and the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council," the State's response read.
"The illegal construction phenomenon is wrong in itself, and even more so when it involves construction on private Palestinian land. The State has made it a point not to build communities on private land out of respect for international law and because it is morally wrong," the State claimed.
