Legal Forum to Barak: Enforce the Law Against Arabs Too (5.21.09)

In response to Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s declaration that he would destroy illegal Jewish outposts in Judea and Samaria out of commitment to the law, Legal Forum for the Land of Israel director Nachi Eyal asked Barak not to selectively apply that commitment to Jews.

Eyal pointed out that according to the Civil Administration, which administers the disputed territory of Judea and Samaria is part of the Defense Ministry, 646 illegal Arab structures were identified by inspectors in 2008 – more than twice the number of illegal Jewish structures.

Though the number of illegal Arab structures in the area doubled that of Jewish ones, enforcement against Jews was twice as harsh: One-third of Jewish illegal structures were demolished while only one-sixth of the Arab structures was demolished.

In addition, according to the Director of the Inspections Unit of the Civil Administration, Marco Ben-Shabbat “[t]he level of inspection on the Israeli sector is several times tighter then on the Palestinian one, and this is mostly due to high sensitivity and the politics of enforcement.”

“Selective enforcement is not a trait of a law-abiding State,” Eyal told Barak.

For an English translation of Eyal's letter to Barak click here.