Thursday, January 14, 2010

New High Court Judge Hendel Rules in Favor of Talmon Housing

Gil Ronen
A7 News

Supreme Court Judge Neil Hendel struck down on Wednesday a request to issue a restraining order against construction of a new neighborhood in the community of Talmon, in the Binyamin region of Judea and Samaria. The village of Al Rania and the leftist NGOs Yesh Din and Bimkom had asked the court to order a stop to all actions based on the zoning plan for the HaBrecha neighborhood, including the construction of a school and preparation for residential housing. The Regional Council Binyamin and the community of Talmon, represented by Attorney Akiva Sylvetsky, opposed the motion.

Judge Hendel ruled in favor of the defendants and decided not to issue any restraining order against construction at Givat HaBrecha.

Hendel's First Ruling on Judea and Samaria

Legal sources noted that this was Judge Hendel's first ruling on a matter connected with Judea and Samaria, and that it marks a departure from the judicial line favored by the High Court for years. Until now, the sources said, restraining orders against Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria were issued almost automatically at the request of leftist NGOs.

Judge Hendel was recently appointed to the nation's highest court as part of a compromise between Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch and nationalist representatives in the Judge Selection Committee.

The leftist NGOs claimed in their motion that Zoning Plan 253/3, which was approved several weeks ago, prevents local Arabs from accessing their land. They also said that the builders would benefit illegally from the approval of their plans.

Political Motivation

Attorney Sylvetsky replied that it was common practice to grant zoning plans retroactively for construction that had been carried out without advance approval. Such approvals, he said, were granted in various locations in Israel, including Judea and Samaria and areas populated by Bedouins and other Arabs. In those cases, he said, no one filed court motions to try and stop the approval, and this shows that the request before the court was politically motivated. The attorney also argued that the question of Arabs' access to their land was not connected to the new construction plan, and that the Arabs could reach their land if they received security clearance.

The State Prosecution opposed the restraining order regarding the zoning plan, but agreed to the idea that the court would issue an order against the Regional Council and the community, freezing any further construction. Judge Hendel refused to grant even that order.

HaBrecha neighborhood is planned to have 300 houses and a school. Nearly 60 houses are already built.

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