Jerusalem District Court Justice Nava Ben-Ohr on Tuesday rejected an appeal from residents of Beit Yehonatan in the Shiloach area of the capital. The petitioners were seeking to prevent the sealing of the multi-family dwelling as per a ruling of the High Court of Justice.

Jerusalem legal advisor Yossi Chavilov continues to spearhead the campaign to demolish the structure, which was named in honor of Jonathan (Yehonatan) Pollard, with Chavilov unwilling to accept any offers of reaching a compromise. Residents suggested that just the illegal top stories of the seven-story structure be sealed off to render them inhabitable, but Chavilov appears determined to see the building brought down or entirely sealed off, void of Jewish inhabitants.

While Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has been seeking to stall, demanding equal enforcement of the law, which would entail carrying out the hundreds of demolition orders against illegal Arab structures in the eastern capital, he is under mounting legal pressure following the High Court’s ruling, as well as being undermined by the city’s own legal expert, Chavilov.

The court stated it does not find sufficient grounds to interfere in previous decisions pertaining to the structure. The court pointed out the order to evict tenants and seal the building was issued in February 2007 and there was no justification for additional delays.

Beit Yehonatan is one of many projects undertaken by the Ateret Kohanim organization, which places an emphasis on legally redeeming homes in predominately Arab occupied areas of the capital to renew the Jewish presence in all areas of the Jewish capital.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)