Netanyahu defeats bill that would legalize Ulpana outpost

A double victory for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday afternoon: After receiving the legal go-ahead from Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to move the homes of the Ulpana outpost elsewhere in Beit El, the Knesset voted down the so-called outpost arrangement bill by a landslide majority of 69 MKs to 22 in a preliminary reading, removing the proposal from the government’s agenda. The bill, had it been approved, would have provided compensation to Palestinian owners of land on which settlements were built, upon proof of ownership, rather than evacuating settlements.

The bill came in response to a recent High Court ruling ordering the evacutaion of five buildings in the Ulpana neighborhood of the Beit El settlement. The court had ruled that the land was privately owned by a Palestinian and should therefore be restored to the owner. The bill represented a legislative effort to circumvent the court’s decision.

Hours before the vote and after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet ministers and their deputies on Tuesday that he would enforce his decision requiring them to vote against the law — Netanyahu looked to have won legal approval for his compromise solution to move the five buildings, comprising some 30 apartments, to another part of the settlement. One of the possibilities floated is to move the homes to the military base in Beit El, home to the IDF’s Judea and Samaria Division.

Netanyahu had reportedly looked for, and received, the legal go-ahead from Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein for a solution allowing for the evacuated Ulpana homes to be moved or rebuilt within the boundaries of Beit El, with one possibility to move the homes onto land that was once used for an army base. It is still unclear whether Weinstein’s reported approval also extends to Netanyahu’s plan to change the designation of the land on the military base in Beit El for civilian use, a plan that might not be legal under international law. As of press time on Wednesday afternoon, Weinstein’s office has not issued a formal statement on the matter.

However, in a move meant to mollify right-wing ministers, Netanyahu announced Wednesday that he will head a new ministerial committee that would deal with settlement affairs, potentially revoking some of the authority over settlement matters that are granted almost exclusively to the defense minister. According to Israel Radio, the prime minister’s bureau said that Defense Minister Ehud Barak was aware of the decision to create the committee, which in theory would bypass his authority. Netanyahu himself will head the committee, Israel Radio reported.

Meanwhile, the coalition parties have allowed their Knesset members to vote freely, so that MKs who are not cabinet members can vote as they see fit.

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, who is not a member of Netanyahu’s cabinet but is widely respected as an elder statesman of Likud politics, also announced Wednesday morning that he would vote in favor of the bill.

The tension in the Knesset was been palpable ahead of Wednesday’s plenum debate prior to the vote. The bill’s initiators, MK Yaakov Katz (National Union) and MK Zevulun Orlev (New National Religious Party) still believed they could enlist a majority vote for the bill during the preliminary hearing, despite the prime minister’s opposition.

According to speculation, a number of Likud ministers would prefer to be absent from the plenum during the voting, while others still are abroad. Coalition chairman MK Zeev Elkin (Likud) will be among those who vote in favor of the law. Shas Chairman Eli Yishai announced that his party’s cabinet ministers will be absent for the vote.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beitenu chairman) told Army Radio Wednesday morning that his party’s ministers and Knesset members would vote against the law.

„We intend to vote with the government against the outpost arrangement bill and in favor of the package deal being formed,” he said.

For the time being, the prime minister’s ultimatum was aimed only at those ministers and deputies who voted in favor of the law, not at those who abstain or skip the vote.

In a personal message to his cabinet, Netanyahu explained that if it passed the outpost arrangement Bill would damage Israel in the international arena, as well as harm the government and its unity.

Members of the Likud party’s nationalist right-wing faction were outraged by Netanyahu’s decision to oppose the bill, and over the past 24 hours have significantly increased their pressure on party ministers to vote in its favor regardless. They bombarded the ministers with texts and emails and also published their personal telephone numbers.

Netanyahu met with Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein on Tuesday and asked for his opinion on two central points. One issue is the status of the homes that will be evacuated and rebuilt within the boundaries of Beit El, on land that was once used for an army base that has since been removed. The prime minister was interested in hearing if it was legally possible to build homes where the base used to be and change the land’s legal designation. Weinstein’s ruling has not been made public. Yesha Council chairman Danny Dayan told 103 Radio Wednesday morning that he had asked several MKs to demand to see Weinstein’s ruling, as Netanyahu’s assertion that Weinstein has approved the prime minister’s plan „cannot be trusted.”

Secondly, Netanyahu asked Weinstein if there is a solution or legal defense that can prevent similar petitions from being submitted in the future, so that cases like Ulpana aren’t repeated.

Until now, the attorney-general has said that there is nothing problematic with the prime minister’s decision to build an additional 300 apartment units in Beit El as a response to the High Court’s ruling to remove the Ulpana apartment buildings. This means that the prime minister can move ahead with his plan to relocate the actual apartment buildings — minus their foundations and cement castings — to another part of Beit El.

Meanwhile, other last-minute efforts being made to prevent the evacuation of the Ulpana neighborhood include having the residents of Ulpana themselves go to High Court and file a petition against the state to prevent the demolition of their homes. The idea was proposed on Tuesday and was discussed by Netanyahu, Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman and Weinstein.

Since it is impossible to petition the High Court over a High Court ruling, the residents of Ulpana will have to submit their petition against the state, citing that its decision to follow through with the ruling and destroy the homes is illegal. The residents are depending on a recommendation written by Justice Hanan Meltzer when he was a lawyer in private practice, in which the Jordanian law that presides over Judea and Samaria states that land owners must be reimbursed for land which the government took control of.

Netanyahu does not actually want to evacuate the homes, therefore the petition option was being considered even though it was aimed against the state, government officials confirmed. According to Jordanian law, only those who bought the houses with their own money would be eligible for reimbursement, and not those who were renting their homes.

It is speculated that the legal maneuvers would not prevent the residents of Ulpana from having to evacuate their homes, but would potentially delay the destruction of the neighborhood by its court mandated date of July 1, until further legal proceedings.