Israel High Court criticises government

Israel's High Court of Justice criticized the government for asking to cancel a previous ruling to demolish illegal structures in a West Bank settlement. At a court hearing Sunday, Justice Uzi Fogelman said: "When the state claims it will do something, we do not imagine that it will not be done. There is respect between the branches," Haaretz said. Fogelman referred to a request by the government to reconsider a previous court ruling to evacuate families living at the Ulpana neighborhood in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, which was found to have been built on Palestinian land, the newspaper said. The previous ruling had called to demolish the buildings in the neighborhood by May 1. The court last month granted a 60 day extension to the demolition order after the government asked for extra time, The Jerusalem Post said. Fogelman warned Sunday such a move sets a bad precedent. "There is a ruling … I don't understand this legal framework. It means that with every ruling, the state will come back and ask to open it," The Post quoted him saying. Fogelman noted that the government had previously agreed to evacuate the buildings. Sunday's request was backed by Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and officials at the State Prosecutor's Office, Haaretz said. Netanyahu ordered his aides in April to devise a legal solution to prevent the settlers' eviction. At the time, Haaretz said government ministers accused the Defense Ministry of turning the issue into a political tool at the expense of the settlers after it issued a statement supporting their eviction.