It has been a long and uphill battle but sixteen years after Knesset passed a law granting equal rights to disabled citizens, that law has been extended to Yehuda and Shomron. IDF Central District Commander Major-General Nitzan Alon signed the required paperwork to implement the law in the areas under his jurisdiction.

It is difficult to believe that in those areas the law did not apply until today, but as a result of Alon’s signature, local and regional councils in Yehuda and Shomron will have to accommodate the disabled, including all public buildings and transportation.

The Norms Bill sponsored by MK (Bayit Yehudi) Orit Struk seeks to have laws approved in Knesset applied to Yehuda and Shomron as well. While the Knesset Law Committee passed it, Committee Chair Tzipi Livni buried the bill. Livni wants nothing to do with any legislation that will add legitimacy to Israel’s presence in Yehuda and Shomron.

Unlike areas inside Green Line Israel, Israeli law is not automatically applicable throughout Yehuda and Shomron. The IDF Central District commander must sign legislation for laws to become accepted throughout those areas.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)