Government prosecutors have told the Supreme Court Wednesday it intends to legalize the controversial Adei Ad outpost in Samaria while admitting that it was built illegally.
The announcement came hours Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly and may indicate that the Prime Minister is going to match Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ hardliner stance towards Israel by making it clear that the number of “settlements” will grow.
However, the announcement also could be part of a political deal with leaders of Judea and Samaria, legalizing the outpost but continuing an unofficial building freeze or carrying out the dismantlement of other outposts.
The government response puts a huge hole in efforts by the anti-settlement Yesh Din organization, which has petitioned the court in the name of four Arab villages to order the expulsion of Adei Ad residents.
The government told the Supreme Court that it will examine the status of all the Adei Ad land, which the community says is state land. The court previously has rejected Arab claims that Arab land belongs to them.
A closer probe of the status could result in the government’s widening the area that is considered state land, in director opposition to Arab claims of ownership.
Approximately 40 families live on Adei Ad, which was built in 1998.