Amona returns, says a Regavim movement press release issued Thursday, but this time it’s an Arab case. The NGO, which emulates the Peace Now and Yesh Din strategy against Jewish communities, applying it against illegal construction in the Arab sector, has petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court to order the demolition of an illegal Arab outpost erected on privately owned Jewish land near the community of Alfei Menashe, on the western edge of Judea and Samaria.
Will the high court rule against Arabs with the same unyielding dedication it showed in the case of a Jewish community? Regavim – and the rest of us, want to find out.
The petition is against the tribe of al-Ramadin, whose main base is in a village by that name outside Hebron. The tribesmen have erected an illegal outpost on private land between Alfei Menashe and Rt. 55 which runs east-west north of the Jewish community. The land purchase has been done properly and registered legally.
The Regavim claim is mainly against the Custodian of Government Property in Judea and Samaria, whose job it is to supervise government property, including private lands under its control.
Regavim is cleverly taking advantage of the same legal principle that has been used so often and so successfully by anti-Zionist NGOs: violations of privately owned real estate receive the highest level of attention by the court, and the swiftest and most extensive rulings in favor of the claimants. But so far the accused have been all Jews and the claimants all Arabs. Will the court maintain its standards in a case where the roles have been reversed?
An investigation by Regavim has shown that as many as 14 Arab homes in the Arab outpost have been built on privately owned Jewish land. Attorney Aryeh Arbus, representing Regavim, stressed in his petition that the IDF Civil Administration nevber even bothered to issue a demolition order against these strikers.
“This is a clear mirror image of the Amona case,” say the Regavim activists, who add, “Since everyone is equal before the law, the Supreme Court will be compelled to rule in this case in accordance with its severe ruling in the Amona case and order the demolition of the Arab outpost.”