Humans rights group Yesh Din on Thursday asked the High Court of Justice to order the state to immediately evacuate 30 homes in the Ulpana outpost, located on the outskirts of the Beit El settlement.

It sent its request in advance of a hearing Sunday on the state request to be released from its promise to evacuate the homes, which were constructed on land classified by the state as belonging to private Palestinians.

Last year the state told the court it would remove the homes by May 1, 2012. But last Friday, four days before that deadline, it asked to be released from that pledge.

The fate of the homes now lies in the hands of the court, which must decide whether to cede to the state’s request.

The state has told the court that it is revising its policy on unauthorized West Bank outposts, including those built on private Palestinian property. It said it plans to submit that new policy within 90 days.

The state further asked the court to re-open the Ulpana case so that it could reassess the land status.

The issue of the land classification is under adjudication in a lower district court in Jerusalem. Settlers claim the property was purchased by the yeshiva in Beit El and Amana, the construction arm of the settlement movement.

The sale was never registered with the Civil Administration. The court and the state have not recognized the legality of that sale.

Yesh Din initially filed a petition before the High Court of Justice on the matter in 2010, on behalf of the Palestinians claimants to the property.

Yesh Din attorneys Michael Sfard and Shlomy Zachary on Thursday warned the court that it would set a dangerous precedent that weakened the rule of law if it accepted the state’s requests.

What should the citizens of this state say to themselves about the rule of law when the prime minister and the defense minister do not keep their obligations to the court, the attorneys asked.

In their statement to the court, they referenced comments made by Likud politicians in the last few weeks warning that the judiciary had too much power in these matters and that the evacuation of the homes would destroy the government.

The attorneys said that the state’s request was based on political not legal reasons.

They also warned against the legal consequences of opening a case against which a judgment had already been rendered.

Earlier this week, in a similar case about five apartment building under construction in the Beit El settlement, the court agreed to give the state 60 days to present a new outpost policy. (© 1995-2011, The Jerusalem Post 05/04/12)