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Court upholds decision to keep rightist out of Jerusalem neighborhoods
By Aviad Glickman
Ynet / Israel News
30 June 2010

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3912671,00.html

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the petition submitted by the organization Honenu and extreme rightwing activist Neriah Ofen against the IDF decision forbidding Ofen to be in the east Jerusalem neighborhoods of Neve Yaacov and Pisgat Zeev.

Ofen, who is well known to the security forces, was under administrative arrest during the disengagement from Gaza. Following a series of acts against Palestinians he was later forbidden to enter the West Bank.

The decision to keep him out of the east Jerusalem neighborhoods was taken after he moved there and began hostile activities against Arab residents of the area.

Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish rejected the petition and ruled that the security establishment had information indicating that he was involved in violent acts, some of which he himself led, which were against the law and undermined public peace and security.

She also said the Home Front Command had submitted solid evidence to support its claims that the rightwing activist`s presence in the area would be a danger, and thus keeping him out of the area was a reasonable response even in light of Ofen`s claims that this would violate his freedom of movement.

Beinish, together with judges Uzi Vogelman and Eliezer Rivlin, also referred to the petitioner`s claim that he acted peacefully. They said the confidential material presented to the court showed that his acts constituted a danger that may lead to rioting, which would cause damage not just to property but also physical injury.

The court also rejected Ofen`s claims that there were procedural inconsistencies in the order keeping him from entering the Jerusalem neighborhoods. The judges noted that Ofen himself had tried to avoid receiving the police documents in order to put off receiving the order for as long as possible.

MK Michael Ben Ari (National Union) was quick to take a stand in support of Ofen, and criticized the Supreme Court.

`It seems that according to Judge Dorit Beinish, the (Basic Law) Human Dignity and Freedom is relevant only when talking about terrorists or extreme leftists,` he said. `Keeping a person from an area of the State of Israel is an extreme step which should be taken only in exceptional cases.`

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