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| Subject: Way to go: Israhell's court rules against illegal settlement - Government must remove West Bank outpost of Migron Mon Mar 26, 2012 5:45 am | |
| The Israeli supreme court has rejected the state's request to postpone dismantling a large, unsanctioned West Bank settler enclave until late 2015.
The decision is a serious blow to settler hopes to keep dozens of rogue outposts standing and could ignite a violent showdown with settlers, who have previously vowed not to abandon their hilltop stronghold, Migron. Settler leader Shimon Riklin, one of the enclave's founders, told Israeli TV the evacuation of Migron "would not pass quietly".
A Palestinian spokesman was sceptical the ruling would be carried out.
The state submitted the delay petition this month, seeking to bypass the high court's earlier order to dismantle the Migron outpost by 31 March because it was built on privately held Palestinian land.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, scrambled to find a solution that would satisfy both settlers and the court. His government asked the court to let Migron's settlers stay put until new homes were built for them on a nearby West Bank hilltop by November 2015.
On Sunday, the court ruled that accepting the state's agreement would be tantamount to flouting the rule of law.
"The obligation to fulfil the [earlier] ruling is not a matter of choice," the court said.
Even so, it extended the evacuation deadline to 1 August.
In a text message to reporters, Netanyahu said the government "respects the court's rulings and operates according to Israel's laws".
Some hardline lawmakers said they would promote legislation to skirt around the ruling although previous attempts at legislation have failed.
Ultranationalists began settling Migron more than a decade ago on a windswept West Bank hilltop about 10 miles north of Jerusalem.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/26/israeli-court-rules-against-illegal-settlement |
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