AG approves Netanyahu’s plan to relocate Ulpana neighborhood

By Barak Ravid

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein approved late Tuesday a plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to remove the Ulpana neighborhood in Beit El and transfer the houses to a nearby former army base.

The Prime Minister’s Office said that at the meeting overnight between the two, Weinstein told Netanyahu of his legal opinion concerning a mechanism that would defend future claims against settlement building. In addition, the PMO said this legal opinion supports the prime minister’s demands.

According to Netnayahu’s plan, the five houses built on Palestinian land in Ulpana neighborhood will be removed and relocated to military territory in the Beit El settlement, 300 new housing units will be built on military territory in settlements, and a mechanism will be formed to deal with future Palestinian claims to land in petitions to the High Court.

In addition, Netanyahu responded to the demands of ministers, including Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon, to establish a ministerial committee on settlements that would take over the authorities of Defense Minister Ehud Barak on matters concerning the approval of settlement building. Netanyahu announced on Wednesday morning that he himself will head the committee. “The solution we found strengthens settlements and preserves the rule of law,” said Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, the Knesset is due to vote on a bill geared at sanctioning illegal West Bank outposts on Wednesday. Netanyahu and his advisers will present Weinstein’s legal opinion before the government, and in particular before Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who announced Tuesday that his party’s vote depends on that opinion.

According to the bill, Jewish residential neighborhoods of more than 20 families that are built on land whose legal owners had not challenged the construction within four years would not be evacuated.

Netanyahu announced Tuesday that he would oppose the bill and any member of his government that votes in its favor would be fired.

June 6, 2012 | 15 Comments »

Subscribe to Israpundit Daily Digest

Leave a Reply

15 Comments / 15 Comments

  1. Apparently, in Israel one man often determines the most important issues. Right now this is BB and before that Sharon gave away gaza. These men are elected on a platform and then fraudulently deceive their electors by embarking on an agenda of personal power. I surmise that he english parliamentary system which allows the unity of the legislative and executive branches, results in the election of a dictator in between elections. In the US system a legislator can be independent of the executive and can freely act independently. All of BB’s actions appear to be focused on amassing political power and he does not even deign to discuss his “reasons” with the public. Like Sharon he is above such worldly matters. It also appears that israelis are not curious as to the reasoning or agenda of their emperor. They appear to be watching and commenting from the sidelines as if they have no right to interfere in the diktats of the boss.

  2. @ rongrand:
    All of Israels governments are secular (progressiv?) usually with some religious parties as minority coalition partners with limited power and influence. Being religious does not in any way denote right wing or nationalist. Most are neither, and except for a few stalwart right of center MK’s in the coalition there are no right wing or nationalist MK’s in this government. The real right in Israel is in opposition and that’s the way BB planned it from the beginning. The ideological right in BB’s first term as PM brought his government down and he lost to Barak with a lot of help from Clinton.

    BB is now having his revenge. He is not a forgiving personality and he never forgets a slight unless it’s by Obama or a number of other world leaders. BB is more afraid of Obama than he is of the wacko’s in Iran. BB’s first reaction to Sharon’s announcement of unilateral withdrawal from Gaza was “Interesting” That should explain everything he has done till now.

    As long as BB is in office we are in deep shit.

  3. @ yamit82:

    Yamit I tend to agree with you.

    What kind of government doesn’t protect their citizens and their G-d given rights to the Holy Land.

    This is definitely a secular progressive government.

    What kind of message does this send to the Arab world.

  4. @ NormanF:

    I tend to agree. If those Jews who stand to lose everything won’t fight for themselves and play by the governments rules they will lose. Feiglin in the Likud is finished and there is no room in the likud for any principled Jewish nationalist and there hasn’t been for a long time.

    Time to regroup abandon past myths and coalesce under a single nationalist banner. I don’t believe it can be done until it’s too late which may already be the case. Looks like Kadima and Likud will at some point merge and that will seal it for any nationalist Jews. I watched the vote and the debate in the Knesset the rats and the rabbits abandoned ship. By the time the first building BB has promised goes up in Bet El, BB will have abandoned Bet El entirely. He made an empty promise and one he has no intention of fulfilling. He is a Weasel, a liar.

    I would call for every soldier who supports the settlements to go AWOL,Sit for 6 months in the brig but make the message clear. A government who would ethnically cleanse Jews and protect the Arab enemy is an illegitimate government and is violating the unwritten understanding between the soldiers who serve honorably and the government. The police may be treated as paid enemies. Any one of them can quit rather than carry out such orders with no adverse penalty. They make peanuts anyway. Problem is most are so stupid they are unemployable out of the police service.

  5. Assuming AG Weinstein’s legal opinion is correct based on existing or non-existing Knesset or judicially made law, that it would be illegal to ex post facto legalize the existence of the 5 Israeli homes built in the Ulpana neighborhood without permits, that does not end the issue.

    Every national government is charged with the responsibility to advance or protect national interests. They typically do so through enacting laws, whether they have domestic implications or ramifications beyond their recognized borders.

    National interests are identified, defined and determined by the government of the day.

    On the matter of settlements, this falls within the ambit of government’s perception of national interests and the strategic means to advance those interests.

    Netanyahu, apparently does see some aspects of the issue of settlements as being necessary to Israel’s national interests. For some reason, not made clear, demolishing the 5 Ulpana houses and relocating these homes to and building more in a different region, is necessary as part of advancing Israel’s national interests as he sees it.

    Assuming as I said that Weinstein’s legal opinion is correct, if retaining those 5 Ulpana homes and presumably granting permits for more residential construction in the area was seen to be in Israel’s national interest, presumably the Knesset could pass the appropriate laws to achieve that end.

    What has determined Netanyahu’s position is that he believed destruction of the 5 Ulpana homes was not in Israel’s interests. It is not an issue of whether retaining them was illegal, for that which is illegal today, can be legislated as legal tomorrow.

    The debate thus should not be over whether retaining or destroying these 5 Ulpana homes is legal or not, but rather whether it is in the national interest.

    Netanyahu should be called to account in that regard and put his position squarely before the Israeli people.

  6. BB has nothing to worry about – he doesn’t fear the Jews and the Jews are powerless to stop him.

    In Israel, the branja make sure things go their way and in a country devoid of the rule of law and justice, innocent Jews will pay the price.

    Not that I was surprised at the outcome.

  7. Likud and Nationalists Set for Divorce
    http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/156590#.T893J5iJ7VE

    Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ultimatum appears to be the final blow to “Feiglinism,” the ideology of Moshe Feiglin to work for nationalism from within the Likud. The party formally favors a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria but in practice has allowed hundreds of middle-of-the-night police raids to expel residents from hilltop communities, usually with violence and accompanied by Arab hired hands to throw out belongings and often walk away with them.

    The Jewish Home party so far has turned the other cheek, but the issue of the Ulpana neighborhood may be the last straw. Nationalists warn that failure to prevent the expulsion through legal means will be the catalyst for turning other Jewish communities into falling dominoes.

  8. First crack in coalition. More hopefully to come.

    Likud’s 4 Historic Giveaways:
    Yamit under Begin
    Hebron under BB
    Gush Katif and 4 Northern Samaritan settlements: Sharon
    Ulpanna Bet El: BB

    Knesset shoots down Givat Ulpana bill
    Thousands protest in Jerusalem as controversial legislation fails, with 69 MKs opposed and 22 in favor

    The Knesset, in a raucous session, rejected on Wednesday a controversial bill that would have regularized unapproved settlements and saved five buildings in the Givat Ulpana outpost from demolition.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had opposed the bill and instead proposed an alternative plan to build additional housing units in Beit El proper in exchange for the five buildings slated to be removed.

    The bill was defeated with 69 opposed and 22 in favor, with 29 abstentions. After the results were announced, thousands of right-wing demonstrators, most of them minors, took to the streets outside the Knesset in protest, leading to two arrests.

    The buildings in Givat Ulpana are slated for destruction on July 1 by order of the High Court, after it was determined they were built on private Palestinian land.

    Mk Zevulun Orlev (Jewish Home) said in his arguments for the bill that the issue was broader than the five Ulpana buildings. He noted that the date, June 6, was the same date the Sharon government decided to clear out Gaza’s Gush Katif settlements.

    “Do you really think this is about five buildings? If the prime minister wants to build more buildings in Beit El, why does it need to be linked to the buildings in Givat Ulpana?” Orlev asked. “Is this how we build a state?”

    Orlev reiterated his intention to leave the coalition government given the bill’s failure to pass, along with 11 other Religious Zionist members of Netanyahu’s government.

    In his arguments on behalf of the government, MK Benny Begin (Likud) said that the state was not giving up the Jewish people’s right to the land, but that the High Court decision must be respected. He noted that the settler movement was now entering its third generation.

    Despite earlier statements that they would support the bill, MKs Gila Gamliel (Likud), Ayoub Kara (Likud) and Daniel Hershkowitz (Jewish Home) all abstained. All three hold ministerial positions, and Netanyahu had threatened to remove from their posts any ministers who voted for the bill.

    Eight Likud MKs defied the prime minister’s instructions and voted in support of the bill: Carmel Shama-HaCohen, Ofir Akunis, Zeev Elkin, Danny Danon, Tzipi Hotovely, Chaim Katz, Yariv Levin and Miri Regev.

    MKs supporting the bill met with reporters Wednesday morning and criticized the prime minister and the Likud ministers opposing the bill.

    “It’s a puppet vote,” MK Hotovely said, adding that many of those opposed to the bill did so out of “disingenuous considerations” and because of threats by the prime minister to fire any minister who voted in favor of it. Hotovely voted for the bill.

    “The Knesset must allow the freedom of voting for ministers — the government must not be a puppet government,” she added.

  9. @ yamit82:

    Of course I not only don’t understand the workings of the Israeli government I likewise don’t understand the settlement issues.

    Having said that, how about the government compensating the Palestinians by purchasing similar land for them in Jordan including the cost to relocate them.

    Can you imagine how Jews would be treated if the same situation were reversed.

    You don’t want to even imagine.

  10. Yisrael Beytenu to vote against settlement regulatory bills
    Shas decides to sit out vote on outpost bills after PM threatens to fire its supporters

    The prime minister’s threat to fire uncooperative ministers effectively delivers a death blow to the bills, which were intended to give the government a way to go around a High Court order to evacuate and demolish the Givat Ulpana outpost in the West Bank.

    Netanyahu announced his opposition to the measure on Sunday, saying he instead wants to move the outpost’s five homes slated for destruction to another piece of land nearby. Netanyahu has been rallying his party members to vote against the motions.

    The bills now seem set to fail, or possibly be withdrawn by their sponsors.

    Four ministers and deputy ministers could lose their jobs if they ignore the warning and vote in favor of the measures: Ayoob Kara (Likud), Deputy Minister for Development of the Negev and Galilee; Science and Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz (Habayit Hayehudi); Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein (Likud) and Gila Gamliel (Likud), Deputy Minister for the Advancement of Young People, Students and Women.

    Gamliel and Kara said Tuesday night they would vote for the bills.

    “The bill is the only solution to prevent the evacuation of the Givat Ulpana houses,” Kara said.

    Gamliel slammed the government for forcing the citizens to pay the price of the state’s mistakes.

    Edelstein said he “felt betrayed” by other ministers who had said they would support the bills, but changed their minds after Netanyahu’s threat to fire those who did.

  11. Defense Ministry legal adviser: Ulpana settlers ‘knew what they were doing’
    Deputy PM Dan Meridor says there are no grounds to legalize the controversial outpost

    Defense Ministry legal adviser Ahaz Ben-Ari on Tuesday rejected claims that the settlers who purchased five contested houses in the Givat Ulpana neighborhood of the West Bank settlement of Beit El did so in good faith.

    “They received an order to cease work and they received a demolition order, and they ignored them,” he said. “They continued to build. They knew what they were doing.”

    Speaking during a Knesset debate on a proposed “regularization bill” that would legalize the Ulpana neighborhood, including the contested houses, Ben-Ari said, “It’s impossible to legitimize these buildings, because they are build entirely on private land.”

    Also on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor denounced the bill, calling it a legally baseless attempt to bypass a High Court ruling that ordered the demolition of the five houses.

    A day before the Knesset is set to vote on the bill, which would set a potential precedent for the legalization of other similar outposts, Meridor called the bill “an illusion” and stated that its enactment would “cause damage not only to settlements in Judea and Samaria, but to Israel as a whole.”

    “Israel is not permitted to confiscate land in military controlled territory,” he said, citing a High Court of Justice decision and the Hague Convention. “There is no legal way to make it happen.”

    Meridor added that there were no grounds for legitimizing the confiscation of private Palestinian land when there is so much public land on which construction can take place in a permissible manner.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Likud colleagues Monday that the government would build 280 new housing units in Beit El proper as part of a plan to relocate the five buildings slated for destruction in Givat Ulpana.

    The prime minister was trying to convince his party’s MKs not to vote Wednesday for the “regularization bill.” Early indications were that this tactic would prove effective, with reports that the bill is set to fail or possibly be withdrawn by its sponsors.

    Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz said that the law would likely harm the settlers themselves, and that the upcoming vote was one of the most important decisions for the rule of law in the State of Israel.

    MK Zevulun Orlev (Jewish Home) said Monday night, however, that his faction would leave the coalition if the law doesn’t pass and the five houses in Ulpana are destroyed.

    Orlev called Netanyahu’s solution of moving the buildings to public lands “problematic,” saying there are legal options for compensating the Palestinian landowners.