Leftwing NGO Yesh Din, the council head of the Arab village Jalud, northeast of Shilo in Samaria, and thirteen Arab landowners on Monday petitioned the High Court of Justice demanding an injunction against continued construction of the Amichai settlement, where Prime Minister Netanyahu promises to resettle the expelled residents of Amona. The petition claims that building the new community at its government-approved location would limit Arab access lands they own nearby.
The Netanyahu government issued the decision approving construction of the Amichai settlement after the examination and approval of the Attorney General, who stated unequivocally that the land was state-owned. Plans for the establishment of Amichai were approved last June, and the Supreme Planning Council followed suit by approving the start of earthworks at that location, although government is yet to issue its final approval for the project.
The petitioners’ argument is based not on a claim to the land in question, but on the hypothetical suggestion that the new community which borders enclaves of private Arab land would prevent the owners from using their lands.