The Cabinet postponed discussion today of the Supreme Court’s contempt citation against the government for unauthorized construction work on Bedouin lands in the Negev because the issue is still under investigation by the Attorney General Knesset Speaker Yitzhak Shamir also announced this morning that the Knesset debate on the subject, to have begun tomorrow, will be postponed at least until after the Passover holidays.
Although the Knesset recessed for Passover last Wednesday, debate was demanded by the Labor Alignment and the Shai faction which obtained more than the 30 signatures required to recall it. Shamir ruled, however, that the debate could not be held while the matter is under juridical consideration. This was disputed by Alignment Whip Don Rosolio who argued that the subject of debate was the unprecedented ruling by the nation’s highest court, not the legal dispute over construction now before the courts.
At today’s Cabinet meeting, Justice Minister Shmuel Tamir said “we look at the high court ruling with the utmost respect and seriousness and the government will be the first to reach any and all conclusions necessitated by the high court’s position.” However, he said, “because the issue is presently before the high court, the government has decided not to discuss it at this time. Rather, it will wait and discuss it in its entirety once the investigation is completed.”
Premier Menachem Begin, confined to bed with flu. and temperature, did not attend the weekly Cabinet session today which was chaired by Deputy Premier Yigael Yadin. Begin’s doctors ordered him to remain in bed for the next day or two.
BACKGROUND OF COURT ACTION
The Supreme Court issued its citation last Thursday when it ordered a half to road-building work on disputed land hear the Beersheba-Arad road. The court acted on behalf of a local Bedouin, Sulieman Abu Garen, who complained that the work was started by a government agency without obtaining the required permit from the Beersheba district court. The arrival of bulldozers. and workers on the site touched off clashes in which several policemen were injured and 11 Bedouins arrested, including Sulieman. They were expected to be released today.
The work is on a road to give access to a planned new Bedouin township in the Negev. Government policy is to concentrate the various tribes in towns, thereby ending their nomadic existence, a policy to which many Bedouins object. Government officials said Friday that the land for the road was requisitioned in a legal manner long before last week’s protest and that they were under the impression that the court permit was required for work at the proposed township site, not the road leading to it.
Tamir rejected claims that the incident was due to a misunderstanding. “It is possible that there were misunderstandings in the affair, but it is also possible that certain persons will have to stand trial as well, “he told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.
The high court’s action stunned government officials and Attorney General Itzhak Zamir ordered an immediate investigation Friday. The law allows 21 days to reply to the contempt ruling, Zamir said today that he would submit “a frank, thorough and reliable report.”
EARLIER DECISION BROUGHT TO LIGHT
The current dispute brought to light an earlier decision by the Supreme Court in which a different panel of judges criticized the Israeli army for beginning work on the site of a new air base near Beersheba nearly two months before it obtained the necessary court permit. That matter was also the subject of an appeal by Bedouin in tribesmen. The court ruled that the government failed to observe orderly administrative procedures and ordered it to pay the Bedouins IL 5000 in legal expenses:
A Defense Ministry spokesman said today that the work done in the area without permit was preliminary and of limited scope. He said the area was closed by the army last December in preparation for building the air base. A permit was requested from the Finance Minister early last month and was issued on March 21, he said. This was some time after the Bedouins’ appeal to the Supreme Court.
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