Draft legislation passes preliminary reading after article that would have overturned the impending eviction of Amona outpost in Samaria is excluded • Left decries “annexation” • Human rights group: Palestinians won’t even be able to object to land grab.
By Gideon Allon, Mati Tuchfeld, Efrat Forsher and Yair Altman, ISRAEL HAYOM
Residents of Amona will be evicted, but other settlements will receive legal standing if the bill passes
The controversial outpost regulation bill passed its preliminary Knesset reading Monday, following an impassioned debate. The legislation proposal seeks to “regulate Israeli settlement in Judea and Samaria and allow it to continue to take root and develop,” by allowing the government to retroactively grant some contested outpost the necessary permits.
Earlier Monday, the Ministerial Committee on Legislation held a special meeting to approve a new draft of the bill, excluding its original Article 7, which referred specifically to the Samaria outpost of Amona, in which it is facing a court-ordered eviction on Dec. 25. The committee approved the bill over the objection of Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit, who opposes any version of the bill, arguing that it is unconstitutional.
The bill passed its preliminary reading with a vote of 60 MKs in favor and 49 against.
Habayit Hayehudi MK Bezalel Smotrich introduced the legislation to parliament ahead of the vote. Repeatedly heckled by opposition MKs, Smotrich warned against the “tyranny and foolishness of the judiciary” and attacked MK Benny Begin (Likud), who is a vocal critic of the bill.
Opposition Leader Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) called the bill a “deal” and characterized its passing as “a dark day for the government.”
On Tuesday, the bill was due to be presented for its first parliamentary reading.
The exclusion of Article 7, which would have allowed the residents of Amona to remain in their outpost despite the High Court-ordered eviction, saw the Kulanu faction drop its objection to the legislation. However, the left-wing group Peace Now argued that dropping Article 7 will pave the way to build another 4,000 housing units in Judea and Samaria, annex some 2,000 acres of Palestinian land, and grant legal standing to 55 illegal outposts.
Moreover, according to a Peace Now report published this week, should the outpost regulation bill pass, it will legalize over 3,900 structures built on privately owned Palestinian land, including both permanent structures and caravans. Some 3,125 of the buildings stand in official settlements and almost 800 are located in illegal outposts.
On Monday, Mendelblit announced that he opposed the revised version of the outpost regulation bill, as he thinks the new version still includes elements that circumvent the accepted procedures for regulating land in Judea and Samaria and legitimizing settlements built on privately owned land.
The attorney general argues that the new draft of the bill still goes against both Israeli and international law, and he would therefore be unable to defend it before the High Court of Justice. Nevertheless, Mendelblit is considering another appeal to the High Court, this time seeking a 30-day continuance on Amona’s eviction, so to allow the government time to prepare temporary housing for the outpost’s residents.
Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett, it seems, has effectively given up the possibility of regulating Amona’s status, meaning the outpost will be razed. Political sources told Israel Hayom that it is highly likely the legislation proposal will stall before it is presented for its third and final reading because of Mendelblit’s vigorous opposition.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday: “The coalition is strong, stable. It overcomes obstacles and manages to overcome every hurdle and problem. … We are working diligently to find a solution for Amona. I, and I think everyone here, understand the distress of the residents and also appreciate their devotion. The solution we are looking into and intend to propose will allow the residents to stay on the hill, and as a community. Settlement is precious to us. So we are looking for, and I think finding, solutions that were not available before now, and are all legal.”
Bennett said:
“We can say that a 1977-style upset [when the Likud came into power for the first time] happened here today — because today, the national camp is back in power. This is a historic day. Today, the Israeli Knesset moved from heading toward establishing a Palestinian state to heading toward sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, and to remove any doubt about it — the outpost regulation bill is the tip of the iceberg in applying sovereignty.”
The opposition decried the fact that the bill was unexpectedly presented for a preliminary reading.
“Deleting the Amona clause exposes the government’s true intention — annexation and not a solution, annexation and not regulation,” Zionist Union MK Tzipi Livni said.
Human rights group Yesh Din, which filed the petition about the ownership of the land that started the controversy over Amona, said in a statement that “the outpost regulation bill does not even allow Palestinians to object to their land being stolen.”
@ ArnoldHarris:
Thank you!
Since when did Israel have a written constitution that controls whatever legislation is proposed or passed by the Knesset?
The United States of America, which is a republic and not a democracy, has had a written constitution since the late 1780s.
Israel, which tries to be a democracy on steroids, has a Knesset that has long been under permanent control of a gang of self appointed lawyers pretending to be judges, has created for itself a system which punishes its own Jewish citizens for the benefit of a pack of Moslem rats who hate everything Jewish.
Who in hell in their right minds would want to live in such a place under such a system, Jewish though it is?
I am strictly a nationalist, both as a Jew and as an American. And that’s the only kind of system I shall ever respect. And I always try hard to write the truth as I see it, irrespective of any hint of political correctness.
The time has come for the Jews of Israel to make a Jewish nationalist revolution, the lack of which may well be a greater threat to Israel than life with permanent packs of well-organized Arabs who seem to constitute the most hateful civilization on this planet.
Arnold Harris, Outspeaker