News
Compromise reached over Givat Ze’ev synagogue pending court ruling
Israel’s High Court will rule on a petition to postpone the destruction of an illegally built West Bank synagogue, after a compromise deal appeared to have been struck between the government and protestors.
The State Prosecutor’s Office petitioned the High Court last night to postpone the demolition of the Ayelet Hashachar synagogue in Givat Ze’ev just north of Jerusalem. The case goes back several years after the courts ruled that the synagogue was built illegally on private Palestinian land and must be removed. Such action has been repeatedly postponed due to legal appeals. During the last several months, protestors have camped at the site, pledging to prevent the synagogue’s destruction.
However, the High Court eventually set a 17 November deadline for demolition work to begin. In the meantime, negotiations between synagogue officials and the government appear to have resulted in a compromise. The current structure will be dismantled after the government agreed to permit and pay for a new synagogue on adjacent land belonging to the local council.
Haaretz reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon and other ministers were involved in the discussions. Apparently, the synagogue’s rabbi and local council head Yossi Avrahami agreed that various auxiliary buildings can be demolished today and the actual synagogue removed starting tomorrow with completion within three weeks.
In light of the agreement, the State Prosecutor petitioned the High Court to postpone its original demolition instruction. According to Ynet, the petition argued that, “The prime minister and defence minister have received intelligence from security sources which point to significant concerns following the evacuation of the synagogue without an agreement” and that in such a scenario, “The demolition of the synagogue using force will lead to bloodshed.” Israel Radio news says that the last of the protestors at the current synagogue left the site during the night, paving the way for the compromise agreement to be implemented.