Court okays dismantling of Palestinian camp
2013-01-16 22:26
Jerusalem - Israel's Supreme Court on Wednesday approved
dismantling a Palestinian camp set up on a West Bank site slated for Jewish
settlement, three days after its inhabitants had already been evicted.
The court ruling said that the risk of "public
disorder" outweighed "arguments of the [Palestinian] petitioners
concerning property rights”.
On Sunday, Israeli police evicted scores of Palestinian
activists from the camp they set up in the controversial E1 area on the
outskirts of Jerusalem.
The Palestinians had previously obtained a Supreme Court
injunction allowing them to keep the tent camp, but Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, in the middle of a re-election campaign, called for the decision to
be reversed.
The court did not overturn the injunction before the
eviction, but activists said they were told Israeli officials considered the
injunction prevented only the removal of the tents, and not the eviction of
activists.
In documents released to the media, state lawyers argued
that the protest could attract rightwing Israeli settlers, "some of them
extremists”, who would stage counter-demonstrations that could result in
"breaches of the peace against Palestinians and security forces”.
Israel recently moved forward with plans to build in the
area, drawing international criticism for the move, which Palestinians say
would effectively end the chances for the creation of a contiguous Palestinian
state.
The camp was a new tactic in the Palestinian arsenal of
non-violent protest action against Israel's occupation of the West Bank.
