High Court of Justice Justices Uri Shoham, George Kra and David Mintz on Wednesday afternoon 8 Elul rejected a petition filed on behalf of residents of the Mevasseret Tzion Absorption Center, seeking to prevent their eviction next week. Machane Tzioni MK Dr. Yosef Yonah has been escorting them during their struggle.

While the court turned down the petition, it stated it is hopeful the appropriate state agencies will delay eviction until such time proper housing can be found for residents, which seem to number 450 families.

The court’s verdict is miserable! He effectively freed the state from its obligation to assist residents of the absorption center to find permanent housing and even determined that it is the sole responsibility of the residents to find this housing. In fact, the court chose to ignore simple facts. The first is that many of the residents of the absorption center are entitled to public housing, and the state does not provide them with such housing, preferring to transfer them to absorption centers throughout the country, thereby causing them ongoing distress. Second, he ignored the fact that mortgage arrangements offered to other tenants do not allow them a reasonable permanent housing. The demand of the housing tenants to receive relief from the court was not answered; Their struggle is now going to the political arena. I call upon the Government of Israel and Absorption Minister Sofa Landver, to take responsibility for the immigration project, not to abandon the immigrants until they are housed in permanent housing on the basis of the vision of the Declaration of Independence” stated MK Yonah.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)