The residents of Ofra requested a three month delay in the court-ordered destruction of nine homes in their town, in order to give the families time to complete the construction of their new homes. Five of the new homes are not yet ready.
High Court Chief Justice Miram Naor decided to grant a one month stay of execution, until March 5, “in order to give security forces time to prepare to fulfill the court’s orders [of destruction].” The decision was seconded by Justice Yitzchak Amit.
Ignoring her own judicial violence, Naor called on the Ofra residents to not act violently against the authorities.
Only Judge Elyakim Rubenstein offered a minority opinion, and said that the destruction of 5 of the 9 homes should be delayed three months, until their new homes are ready, in order to act mercifully, and not repeatedly traumatize the 22 children who are going to be affected by the court’s decision. He added that there are no Arabs waiting to build on this land that will be evacuated who would be harmed by the delay.
Ofra is a 40-year-old community with 700 families.