Right-wing politicians scrambling to save West Bank Amona outpost

By Tova Lazaroff, JPOST

scrambling to save the West Bank outpost of Amona — which is slated for demolition by the end of December — even if it means standing in opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Sunday they hope to present a bill to the Ministerial Legislative Committee which would retroactively legalize settler homes built on private Palestinian land, such as in Amona’s case, in exchange for granting compensation to the original land owners.

The Palestinian land owners would be given the option of an alternative plot of land close to their homes or financial compensation.

MK Shuli Moalem-Refaeli (Bayit Yehudi) and MK Yoav Kisch (Likud) are spearheading this drive. They are putting the bill forward now, because they would like to see it come to a vote before the Knesset breaks for its summer recess.

“When it comes to Amona’s existence, the hourglass is slowly running out of time,” warned Moalem-Refaeli.

“By passing this bill, we can save this community from destruction and prevent a precedent that would harm other communities in Judea and Samaria,” she said.

Netanyahu has in the past opposed large scale legislative efforts to tackle the issue of unauthorized outposts and homes in the West Bank.

Politicians are hopeful that given the right wing composition of his coalition and the opposition of its members to the demolition of Amona, that Netanyahu might, in this case, take the legislative route to save the hilltop community.

But the drive to save Amona comes amid a renewed push to revive the peace process which has been frozen since April 2014.

The prime minister is under pressure from the European Union and the United States not to take steps to retro-actively legalize settler homes in the West Bank.

The bill explains that outposts like Amona, or the unauthorized homes in otherwise legal settlements were built in many cases with governmental support, including monetary grants. The families that built there homes there, in many cases, learned only later that they were living on private Palestinian property, the bill stated.

In some cases the government officials didn’t know, that the land in question was private Palestinian property and in other cases they believed that a solution could be found, the bill stated.

There is a growing belief among the settlement population that what should have been a normal technical process has been halted by political and diplomatic consideration that would not have been in play had their homes been located elsewhere, the bill stated.

It noted that many of the homes are located in areas that strategically important, particularly from a security perspective.

Amona was first built in 1995, on the edge of the Ofra settlement. It is home to some 40 families and is located in the Binyamin region of the West Bank.

On Thursday night the Campaign to Save Amona urged Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi) to bring the legislation up for a debate and a vote.

“Ayelet, there is a clear majority to pass this law. If that happens, Amona will be saved,” they said.

Late Friday afternoon Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev (Likud) said she spoke with Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) about Amona. She was under the impression, Regev said, that he was doing his best to find an alternative path to save Amona that was not dependent on legislation.

Separately, MK Miki Zohar (Likud) has also drafted a bill that calls for a seven-year waiting period between the release of an administrative demolition order and its implementation.

Amona is famous for the violent clashes that occurred there in 2006 between security forces and the settlers when the IDF came to raze nine permanent illegally built homes.

In 2014 the High Court of Justice ordered the demolition of the entire outpost, because it built without permits on land which belongs to private Palestinian.

The HCJ issued it’s ruling in response to a petition by the NGO Yesh Din, which represents 10 families from the nearby village of Silwad who claim ownership of the land.

Amona residents, however, have noted that it was also constructed with NIS 2.16 million from the Construction Ministry.

Amona residents have argued that the government gave them initiation approvals to build that were never finalized.

They have added that the government must now find a legal solution for them to remain in their homes.

July 17, 2016 | 50 Comments »

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  1. honeybee Said:

    @ yamit82:
    bernard ross Said:

    oddly, his friend did not find it as funny as us

    That’s cause you’re both strange cats.
      

    strange but true

  2. honeybee Said:

    Dice the chicken in chunks, take some mayonnaise and mix it with a little balsamic vinegar, garlic salt and oregano , toss with the chicken. Chicken salad , you can add pine nuts.

    LOL, I did it the old fashioned way… threw it all on a plate and ate it cold.. took 1 minute to prepare.
    next time i will try yours

  3. honeybee Said:

    @ bernard ross:
    @ yamit82:

    Turkey coup = Reichstag.
      

    yes, an old technique tried and true that the Jews never use on their enemies. It doesnt matter what folks say… you just do what you want and stick to your story(explanation). E. G. Israel should annex YS throw out the scum and say “it belongs to us legally, historically and morally”…. and then let everyone talk and moan. NOt the exact analogy because Jews dont have one. War is dirty, when you find your enemy… all is fair. the problem is that even when Israel gets a real opportunity, to declare war and annihilate their enemies, they dont take it….. except in 67…. and look how well that worked on every level… until they decided to start giving it up with no reason or pressure.

  4. bernard ross Said:

    greasy cold chicken

    Dice the chicken in chunks, take some mayonnaise and mix it with a little balsamic vinegar, garlic salt and oregano , toss with the chicken. Chicken salad , you can add pine nuts.

  5. @ yamit82:

    India’s Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS), a government body headed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and responsible for military procurements, is ready for a final vote on India-Israel defense contracts and projects totaling $3 billion, The Times of India reports.

    The three pacts “should be cleared by the CCS within a month or so,” according to a source within India’s Ministry of Defense. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Israel for the first time later this year, at which time the final contracts ought to be ready for signature.

    The three deals include the acquisition of 164 ‘Litening-4’ targeting pods–targeting designation tools used by ground-attack aircraft—for Indian Air Force fighter jets such as the Sukhoi-30MMKIs, and an undisclosed number of Spice 250 precision guided bombs with a standoff range of 100 kilometers (62 miles).

    Furthermore, progress has been made in negotiations over the procurement of 321 ‘Spike’ anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) systems, along with 8,356 missiles,….
    http://thediplomat.com/2016/02/revealed-india-close-to-signing-3-billion-defense-deal-with-israel/

  6. bernard ross Said:

    http://www.timesofisrael.com/report-trump-wondered-if-he-needed-jewish-agent-for-apprentice/

    here’s what bothered the “woody allen crowd”

    “Don’t you think I should get a Jewish agent, so he can negotiate better for me?” [lolrof]

    A former employee also once wrote that Trump, while running casinos in New Jersey in the early 1990s, said: “The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day.”

    that is one bunch of sheltered feygeles.
    In my life those are compliments… looks like those woody allens need to go home to mummy to have their noses wiped. they are an embarassment. Trump has great trust for jews in his dealings in business…. a great compliment, but he should not extend that trust to the backstabbing woody allen crowd.

    In a choice between believing a woody allen Jew and trump I’ll pick trump…. especially since his daughter, son in law and grandchild are all folks he is proud to boast about. I never hung around with those types of Jews… their mothers used to carry a hanky to wipe their snotty noses.
    I wonder where they have been living all their life?

  7. @ yamit82:

    In February 2006, therefore, Israel and India signed a joint development agreement to create a new Barak-NG medium shipborne air defense missile, as an evolution of the Barak-1 system in service with both navies. In July 2007 the counterpart MR-SAM project began moving forward, aiming to develop a medium range SAM for use with India’s land forces. Both missiles would now be called Barak-8. In between, “India to Buy Israeli “SPYDER” Mobile Air Defense System” covered India’s move to begin buying mobile, short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems for its army, based on the Python and Derby air-to-air missiles in service with its air force and naval aircraft. These projects offer India a way forward to address its critical air defense weaknesses, and upgrade “protection of vital and strategic ground assets and area air defence.”
    http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/india-israel-introducing-mr-sam-03461/

    whew… that wastnt a good marketing strategy for those patriots.

  8. @ bernard ross:

    Re: the Woody Allen Crowd: This Synagogue group plans to go to Israel and visit the grave of Yasser Arafat. 🙂 One of many ……it’s an Arab and christian itinerary more than a Jewish one. Can’t post here it’s a pdf format.

  9. @ bernard ross:

    Report said they shot American patriot missiles each cost $50K at a little drone? They never worked in the past and apparently still don’t Russian and Israeli SAM’s better and in the past the IAF jets have downed drones so why patriots?

    We are beginning to look and sound like the Turkish coup keystone cops operation.

  10. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said Sunday that the latest legislative drive to legalize their homes is unconstitutional.

    well gosh, no high court necessary…. just ask that whiz kid Mandebilt his opinion.

  11. yamit82 Said:

    the Woody Allen crowd

    😛 😛 😛
    yamit82 Said:

    Israeli militarism is an endless source of embarrassment for leftist Jews

    IDF checks whether drone in north was sent by Hezbollah
    Member of Lebanese terror group claims craft was photographing army activity in the Golan; IDF fired 2 missiles at intruder, but missed
    http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-believes-drone-that-infiltrated-from-syria-is-russian-made/

    I thought they locked onto their targets????? such an expensive system…. but will it work?

  12. @ yamit82:

    Ha Pee Pee ever extracted any concessions in exchange for being cynically used as a prop by Hussein Obama?

    Or has he accepted his role as a battered wife to be alternately abused and patronized?

    Israeli militarism is an endless source of embarrassment for leftist Jews, who incur much grief from their anti-Semitic liberal brethren whenever the Israelis refuse to be obediently masochistic.

    While a neutered and helpless Israel may not be as desirable as an extinct Israel, the Woody Allen crowd would consider it to be an enormous improvement.

  13. @ honeybee:

    We are an Oasis of tranquility here in Israel compared to USA and the rest of the world our problems seem quite tame in comparison and I’m not used to that reality so maybe I am in shock 😛

  14. SHmuel HaLevi 2 Said:

    His AG found a way to crush the proposed law as well…

    LOL, he keeps appointing folks to do his left wing dirty work so that he can still claim the votes of the suckers who want a right wing gov. BB keeps pointing the finger of guilt at his appointees and walks off clean. He doesnt even have to go to the high court because when HIS AG talks everyone listens and falls into line. BB tells his latest AG “just tell those fools that the high court will strike it down”…. and the rest cant figure out why they never get anything right wing out of this (LOL) “right wing” coalition. Once in a while he might need to go to the high court but then they also always do what he wants. the con man always keeps working his con until the sucker figures it out. The suckers still dont get it.
    BB panics the suckers to vote for him or labor might get in and the minute he is in he is begging for labor to come in.

    Meanwhile the AG that keeps everything in check for BB and is regularly starting new investigations…….. for that make busy look that beaurocrats love….. apparently he did not see anything amiss with Yaalon abusing his position of authority and power to obstruct the natural course of justice by serially declaring folks guilty before investigation starts… and defacto repeatedly instructing his military subordinates(investigators, prosecutors, judges)……so they would not forget to find the jewish victims guilty every step along. Somehow the genius puppet stooge Mandebilt was unable to see anything wrong with yaalons behavior…. no investigation into what would be a massive scandal in any democratic nation. Thats why we keep seeing so many BS investigations… red herrings to cover up Mandebilts negligence.

  15. Nu? What did anyone expect from Netanyahu? I mean, honestly!
    His AG found a way to crush the proposed law as well…
    I said long ago that given half a chance “el fantastico” will destroy, if “left”… to his own devices, all of the Jewish locations everywhere.
    You know the rest.