Israel's Supreme Court Demands Explanation on West Bank Reserve Authority Transfer

Israel's Supreme Court issued an order nisi on Tuesday, responding to a petition filed by the Palestinian Authority. The petition challenges the Israeli government's decision to assume enforcement powers within the Judean Desert Nature Reserve, an area governed by a special agreement.

The court, led by Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit, has mandated that the state must explain its position regarding the exercise of enforcement authorities in the territory, which were originally granted to the Palestinian Authority under the Wye River Agreements. This legal development follows approximately two years of proceedings and coincides with the swearing-in of a new Knesset, according to the Regavim movement.

The Regavim movement sharply criticized the court's order, asserting that it could impede the implementation of a cabinet decision aimed at combating illegal Palestinian construction within the reserve. The core of the dispute stems from a June 2024 decision by the Political-Security Cabinet, which stipulated that Israel would take over enforcement responsibilities in the reserve. This decision was reportedly made in response to repeated alleged violations of agreements by the Palestinian Authority, extensive land seizures, and the construction of thousands of illegal structures.

The cabinet's stated objective was to protect the reserve and preserve the arrangements established under the Oslo Accords. The Palestinian Authority filed its petition with the Supreme Court in November 2024, initiating the current legal challenge. Regavim claims that the judicial intervention risks freezing the initiative designed to halt illegal Palestinian construction in the reserve.

Roee Drucker, Judea and Samaria Region Director at Regavim, criticized the Supreme Court's involvement, accusing the court of undermining the government's ability to enact its policies. "Who runs this country, an elected government or the justices of the Supreme Court? For years, the State of Israel stood by while the Palestinian Authority violated agreements, took over territory, and trampled the special reserve," Drucker stated. He added that the cabinet's decision followed a prolonged struggle to increase enforcement in the area, but the legal process is delaying its implementation. "After a long struggle, the government finally made a decision and began to exercise its enforcement powers, and then the Supreme Court comes and throws a wrench in the works. The proceedings have been ongoing for two full years, and the court awakens only now, intervening in a political decision by an elected government. This is a cynical and outrageous exploitation of the legal process. We expect the government to respond decisively to this intervention. The special reserve is not a free-for-all, and the state's sovereignty is not subject to a Supreme Court veto."