PLO Arabs lobby Supreme Court to block new Jewish town
A group of PLO Arabs submitted an “urgent” petition to the Supreme Court Thursday to prevent the establishment of the Jewish town of Amichai inside Israel.
Amichai, which is to be the first new officially-sanctioned Jewish town established in Judea and Samaria in decades, is being built to house the now-homeless former residents of Amona, whose homes were demolished last February, on the order of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Planning Council of the Civil Administration yesterday approved the plan to establish the town.
The Arab petitioners claim ownership over land allocated for the new town, and requested an interim injunction to prevent the continuation of any construction work. The petitioners claim that they inherited the property, and that the subcommittee on objections did not properly examine all the proof of ownership presented to it.
The petitioners also criticized the working procedures of the “Blue Line Team” which deals with the marking and demarcation of the boundaries of what is declared of state land.
Amona Spokesperson Avichai Boaron said, “The decision today to found the town of Amichai is nothing short of historic. After decades without a single new town being built in Judea and Samaria, we are returning to the Zionist ethos.”
“This is a significant change in direction, and it occurred because of the ideological battle waged by Amona’s residents. Both this decision and the Regulation Law blunt the pain caused by destroying Amona and its residents’ homes. However, there is still a way to go before the families move into their new homes, and there will be obstacles.
“We expect the State of Israel and our Prime Minister to do everything possible to allow us to leave the dormitory we are currently living in and allow us to move into our new homes in Amichai.” Boaron was not using the word “dormitory” symbolically. Most of the evacuees are housed in dormitories in the town of Ofra.
