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| By Jerusalem Newswire March 22, 2005 |
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While the United Nations busies itself with efforts to halt what it calls "illegal" Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria, the world body continues to build in Jerusalem without proper authorization and in contradiction to Israeli law.
"The UN is building illegally ... in Jerusalem, without having received any permit or authorization from the Jerusalem Municipality, and in blatant violation of the laws of the State of Israel," Jerusalem City Councilman David Hadari wrote this week.
Hadari was responding to Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz's attempts to overturn a recent Jerusalem District Court ruling demanding the UN cease its unauthorized use of a piece of private property in the capital, or pay the owner two million US dollars.
Reuven Paul, the owner of the property in question, turned to the court after the UN began housing staff on land he owns in eastern Jerusalem.
Mazuz insisted the court strike the ruling and extend the UN's judicial immunity in Israel to cover private claims against the global organization for the sake of protecting the Jewish state from a sticky international incident.
Mazuz told the court he is motivated by the "weighty ramifications on Israel's foreign relations" such a ruling would produce, Arutz 7 reported.
Arutz 7's Shimon Cohen noted the incident was the second time in four months the UN had made use of land in Jerusalem with no regard for Israeli law.
In November 2004, the courts issued a stop-work order after it was found the UN was illegally constructing a large structure near the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Eshkol.
"Despite the duly-issued stop-work orders," however, "the UN has continued to act as it pleases, all because of the judicial immunity granted it by the State of Israel," Hadaris wrote in his letter to Mazuz.
"We must make it clear that the judicial immunity we grant the UN does not justify continuous nose-thumbing at our laws and impairing of our sovereignty," stated the city councilman.
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