Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat sent a letter to General Attorney Avichai Mandelblit in which he told him that if the Supreme Court ruling to vacate the Jewish community in Amona is upheld, it would also have to be applied to Arabs squatting on Jewish-owned land in East Jerusalem.
Until now, the police, under directions of the government, have refused to enforce the law concerning demolishing the widespread building violations. He asked Mandelblit to arrange an urgent meeting on the subject.
“My view is that in Amona, it is proper to reach a settlement in which the town is legalized because it is in existence 20 years and was built with the support of the Israeli government.
Vacating the town would be a injustice to the 40 families that have been innocently living there. However, if the law is applied, it cannot be that there is one law for Jews and one law for Arabs.” He asked that Mandelblit arrange a deliberation concerning illegal Arab construction on Jewish land.
Barkat’s letter was also in response to an appeal by Palestinians to the court to order the municipality not to implement demolition orders for illegal construction. For the first time, the municipality’s response was based on the Supreme Court’s decision over Amona.