Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has indicated he does plan to comply with a High Court of Justice ruling and will seal the building known as Beit Yehonatan, located in the Shiloach neighborhood of the capital.
YWN-Israel reported that State Prosecutor Moshe Lador demanded that Barkat comply with high court rulings to seal off the house.
Sending his response to Lador, Barkat added that at the same time, the city will be enforcing demolition orders against illegal construction in the Arab sector of the capital.
According to a HaMevaser report, the mayor cited the ‘selective enforcement’ that is taking place, targeting the Jewish structures only, and connected the plight of Beit Yehonatan with over 200 illegal Arab structures in the capital, all slated for demolition.
After learning of the mayor’s response, MK Uri Ariel (Ichud HaLeumi) announced he plans to call for an urgent session of the Knesset Interior Committee to address the state prosecutor’s policy of intentionally turning a blind eye to 200 demolition orders but focusing the entire weight of his office on Beit Yehonatan.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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One Response
In a city with a housing shortage, partially caused by the government’s planning policies, why would they ever tear a house down unless it is so unsafe as to be uninhabitable. Arguing that he will enforce the law equally against Jews and Arabs doesn’t prove he isn’t a bigot (though in all fairness his community, the hilonim of Jewish descent don’t have a housing shortage, since the government doesn’t “plan” against them). All it proves is that he’s a idiot. If people want to build housing with their own money, he should encourage them.