Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Show Cause

The Jerusalem District Court has ruled Noam Federman and family should be allowed to return to their home the Israeli government forcibly evicted them from a month ago. Jerusalem Post
"It is not clear to me," presiding Judge Moshe Drori wrote in his decision, "why it was necessary to embark on an operation involving 100 police officers in order to evict a man from a closed military zone which was closed 10 months earlier, without any warning, without any attempt at negotiation, and without checking the claims of the other side."

Around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 26, security forces, in a surprise operation, destroyed an outpost which consisted of two unauthorized homes belonging to the families of singer Sinai Tor and Federman.

"I haven't heard any claims which would support [Federman's] inclusion in an order declaring a closed military zone," the decision read. "[He] is not suspected of conducting a terror attack against Israeli communities, which is one function of the order, and certainly the closure of this area does not apply to [Federman]."

"Indeed," the judge continued, "producing this order [implies an attempt] to prevent a 'terrorist infiltration,' and it is inconceivable that [Federman] be included in this category. For this reason he should have been permitted to remain in the closed territory in order to protect the Israeli communities from terrorist attacks and infiltration, and not have been expelled from the area."

"The methods by which [the State used to evacuate the outpost] were unconstitutional and not proportional, inasmuch as they prevented Federman from living in a significant portion of the land of Israel," the ruling read. "The petition by the State is defective [because of its] grave discrimination. I have not heard any explanation as to why the State chose to evacuate a man with a family which includes a wife and nine little children at 1:30 at night. I don't see how this kind of thing exhibits an obligation by the state to protect its children."

Ehud Barak, current Israeli Defense Minister, has announced his department will appeal this court ruling.

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