The Israeli Supreme Court President said on Thursday that the government must destroy one of the oldest and highly contentious Jewish settlements in the West Bank because it is located on private Palestinian land, The Associated Press reported.
The hilltop settlement of Amona, occupied by nearly 50 families and established in 1995 on Palestinian-owned land without permission from the Israeli government, must be evacuated within two years, said Asher Grunis, president of the Supreme Court of Israel, siding in favor of the Palestinian landowners who brought the case to court.
"Because the structures were built on private lands, it is impossible to authorize them, even retroactively," Grunis said in his ruling, reported the Times of Israel.
This dispute has been in the Israeli justice system for almost 30 years, and Israel had already promised to destroy the settlement, but plans fell by the wayside.
In 2006, Israeli troops completely destroyed nine homes following clashes with 5,000 settlers and sympathizers, but several dozen buildings still remain.
Settlers recently began claiming they had bought some of the land from the original owners, but the Palestinians said this was not true, and police said the documents supposedly proving the sale were forged.
Grunis also criticized the Israeli army for not adequately protecting the rights of Palestinians and for allowing settlers to build Amona.
"The military commander is obligated to actively protect the property rights of residents, and in particular to protect them from illegal takeover of land and construction on it," Grunis said.
"There is no doubt the consequences of the demolition orders will be difficult and painful for both the residents and their families, who settled down and created a community within the outpost, but this difficulty is not sufficient to allow illegal construction on private land, and it does not justify lack of law enforcement."
