Last update - 00:00 24/01/2008
AG: Bedouin buildings can be destroyed only with Justice Min. approval
By Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz Correspondent
Orders to destroy existing structures in the Bedouin sector will be issued only under the authorization of the Justice Ministry, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz said Thursday.
Mazuz made this announcement in response to a request made by Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim in August, asking to freeze the demolition orders for Bedouin villages until the Goldberg Commission publishes its findings. The Goldberg Commission, headed by former state comptroller Eliezer Goldberg, was appointed by the Housing Ministry in order to examine the dispute between the state and the Bedouin community over ownership of land. The Commission convened for the first time last week, and met again on Thursday.
Following the decision to appoint the commission in August, Boim asked Mazuz to freeze the existing demolition orders. According to Goldberg, he received a letter from the Justice Ministry, in response to Boim's request, outlining new guidelines regarding the demolition.
The guidelines state that structures erected after the commission begins its investigation will be demolished, but those built before the commission began its work will only be destroyed with the express authorization of the Justice Ministry. Such authorization will be issued, according to the letter, in special cases in which demolition would serve a public need; lack of demolition would pose a health risk or endanger human life; buildings that house criminal activity centers, and other special cases.
Unrecognized Villages Council chair Hassin al-Rafa'iya told Haaretz that "the judge said beautiful things today, and I welcome them. We need to pose our demands before the commission, and we will assess it (the commission) after we see what results it achieves. Maybe there will finally be a neutral commission."
The unrecognized villages are not represented in the Goldberg Commission. The commission is scheduled to publish its findings in six months. "It is too early to foresee possible solutions, but I hope that at the end of the discussion we will be able to offer solutions that are both fair and easy to implement," Goldberg said.
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