by the ISM media team, December 9th
The Israeli High Court of ‘Justice’ today gave its decision concerning the request of construction companies “Heftsiba” and the Canadian-registered Green Park to overturn the temporary injunction forbidding building in the Matityahu East colony, and to legitimize a planning process that would launder an illegal road built by the construction companies. The case was heard at a hearing on January 7th.
Judges Prokachya, Rivlin and Na’or decided to allow “Heftsiba” to retrospectively change the new scheme for the colony (scheme 210/8/1) and to mark the road already built as a temporary road. At the same time, the judges decided to order Green Park and Heftsiba to pay expenses of 100,000 shekels for contempt and violating the temporary injunction issued by Court.
This is yet another example of the theft of Palestinian land being sanctioned at the highest level by Israeli authorities. The whole of the Matityahu East colonist block was built on Bil’in village land and the whole of the colony of Mod’in Ilit was built on the land of Bil’in and neighbouring villages. Mod’in Ilit is now the largest colony in the West Bank with a population of 35,000 after 4,000 new colonists moved there in 2006.