After deadly settler attack, NGO asks court to halt ‘legalisation’ of outpost

An Israeli human rights NGO has petitioned the Supreme Court to “halt the legalisation of the Adei Ad outpost in the West Bank”, following a recent deadly attack by settlers.

On 26 January, settlers from Adei Ad shot a number of Palestinians in Al-Mughayir village, killing father-of-four Hamdi Taleb Na’asan.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the petition by Yesh Din follows one it filed in 2014, asking the court to force the state to evacuate the outpost, “which was built in 1998 with a NIS 1.45 million [$0.3 million] grant from the Housing and Construction Ministry, but without the proper permits or approvals”.

The colony was built “partially on state land and partially on private Palestinian property”.

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However, “in a move that has frozen the 2014 petition to evacuate the outpost”, the report added, “the state has declared its intention to legalise it”.

Yesh Din believes that the state is “determined to legalise the outpost, no matter what the cost”.

The Jerusalem Post added that “the new Yesh Din petition also impacts the future boundaries of the new settlement of Amihai”, located in the so-called Shilo bloc.

Last summer, Israeli occupation authorities “said it planned to triple the size of Amihai, in a move that would include the Adei Ad outpost within the settlement’s borders”.

Unpunished settlers attacks against Palestinians have multiplied – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]