A three-justice panel of the High Court of Justice unanimously voted to reject a petition seeking to prevent the razing of three homes in the Shomron community of Beit El. The homes are to be razed after the courts ruled they were built illegally on Arab-owned land. The homes in question are located in the western area of Beit El.

Justice Miriam Naor, Elyakim Rubinstein and Esther Hayut ruled there is no reason to hear any petition seeking to prevent the destruction of the homes in light of the ruling from last year in which an Arab who claimed ownership of the land filed a petition against the defense minister. The court ruled the homes must be removed.

This final petition was filed by the company that built the homes, seeking additional time to make arrangements regarding the ownership of the land, explaining a portion of the land in question belongs to the yishuv.

The court ordered the petitioner to pay legal fees of 25,000 NIS and that the homes must be razed no later than the end of July 2015.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)