High Court grants state 3rd delay in Beit El case

State requested delay in demolition of five unauthorized apartment buildings under construction in Beit El.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
Ulpana outpost near Beit El 370 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS/Nir Elias)
Ulpana outpost near Beit El 370 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Nir Elias)
The High Court of Justice on Wednesday acceded to the state’s third request to delay the demolition of five unauthorized apartment buildings under construction in the Beit El settlement.
The buildings were built without permits on land classified by the state as private Palestinian property.
In April 2011 the state promised the court it would remove the five structures within a year. But in April of this year it asked to delay the demolitions until the end of May in light of the Passover holiday and a number of Palestinian activist events, including Nakba Day on May 15.
It also said that the state was weighing the possibility of authorizing buildings plans that would legalize the structures.
The structures are located outside the area included in Beit El’s master plan but are within the boundaries of the 1970s land-seizure order that allowed the IDF to take land from the Palestinian village of Dura al-Qara for military purposes. Beit El was built on that land.
Their status is slightly different from that of the five stone apartment buildings of the Ulpana outpost, which which were located outside the boundaries covered by the land seizure.
Toward the end of May the state asked the court for another extension, explaining that it wanted to present the court with information with respect to the five buildings. The court gave the state until July 19. The state then asked for another delay.
On Wednesday the court gave the state an additional month, until August 19, to provide it with the information. But it also fined the state NIS 5,000 for its continued delay, which will be awarded to the petitioner.
A Palestinian resident of Dura al-Qara first petitioned the court against the construction in December 2010 with assistance from the Israeli legal NGO Yesh Din.