For More Information, Call:
Land and Water Establishment For Release 10:00 p.m. Tel: (972) (02) 812364/824559 January 11, 1995 Fax: (972) (02) 811072
Israeli Military Officers and Settlers Disregard Decisions Made by their Own Court
On Monday 2 January, bulldozers began working on the lands of Al Janiyah for the expansion of the Telmond settlement and for a new road. Lawyers of the Land and Water Establishment immediately presented a petition to the Military Objection Committee demanding and end to construction activities on Al Janiyah's lands. The Military Objection Committee issued an order on Thursday 5 January for work to be stopped only until 8 January, although the next regular court session is to be on 19 January. The court issued this interim order despite the fact that the case has been under review since 1989, and that construction on disputed land is illegal by Israeli law.
On 8 January, the court held a hearing in which the state lawyer tried to prove that confiscation orders had been given in 1980, an argument which had already been unsuccessfully presented in 1990. Lawyers of the Land and Water Establishment proved that the confiscation order had actually been issued in 1989. At that time, the Palestinian landowners submitted an objection to the Military Objection Committee. In 1990 the court decided that the confiscation date had been, indeed, 1989.
The court decided, on 8 January, to issue a new order to stop the work of the settlers until 11 January.
On the same evening, the court informed the lawyer of the Land and Water Establishment that he must appear in court on 9 January for another hearing.
During this hearing, two Israeli officers were present. One represented the Israeli High Planning Committee and the other the Local Planning Committee. They testified that last year there had been a military decision. The decision, issued by the Military Commander after consultation with the government's advisor, was reportedly given on 19 April 1994 to confiscate the land for security reasons. This decision remained unreported to the Military Objection Committee, to the lawyer for the landowners and to the landowners themselves.
The lawyer of the Land and Water Establishment requested a copy of this military decision, but was refused on security grounds. Only the judge was given a copy of the decision during the session, along with a map. By Israeli law, the decisions and orders of the Military Commander override any decisions made by the court (the Military Objection Committee). The application to end the work was refused.
Throughout this period, in direct contradiction to the court's decisions of 5 and 8 January to stop construction, the settlers continued their construction activities on the land of Al Janiyah, under the protection of soldiers.
** The Land and Water Establishment is a Palestinian human rights advocacy organization. The lawyers of LAWE represent the people of Al Janiyah Village.