Israel's supreme court allows Israeli quarries in West Bank to continue operation

Israel's supreme court has rejected a petition against continuing the operation of the Israeli-owned quarries in the West Bank, saying that their existence does not violate the international laws, the Ha'aretz daily reported Wednesday. The court ruled on Monday that no new Israeli quarries would be established in the West Bank, but the already existing ones should be permitted to continue operating until Israel and the Palestinians reach a final-status peace settlement, according to the daily. Israel currently maintains 10 privately-owned quarries in the West Bank, an area that the Palestinians slate to become part of their future state. More than 90 percent of the quarries' yield is for local consumption, the daily said. In 2009, Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights watchdog, filed a petition claiming that the quarries violate the international laws, citing Article 55 of the Fourth Hague Convention, which requires an occupying power to "safeguard the capital" of the occupied party's natural resources and administer them with "fair usage." The Israeli court, however, ruled that Israel's use of the quarries is limited in scope and does not violate the international laws. It also said that although the West Bank has been subject to a prolonged occupation, the economic development of the area cannot cease until Israel withdraws from it. The court's chief, Dorit Beinisch, who read out the ruling on Monday, noted that the quarries supply jobs to a significant number of Palestinians, and their owners pay the state annual royalties of near 30 million shekels (8 million U.S. dollars), which fund projects that benefit the Palestinian population. "In this situation, it's hard to accept the petitioners' unequivocal assertion that the quarries' operation does nothing to advance the region, especially in light of the Israeli and Palestinian sides' mutual economic interests and the prolonged duration of Israel's presence in the West Bank," Ha'aretz quoted Beinisch as saying. Yesh Din officials expressed disappointment with the ruling. However, they said that the Israeli government's decision to ban the establishment of new quarries, which was made after the petition was filed, represented a partial victory for the organization.