“Legitimate protest does not justify administrative orders”

Monday, December 12, 2016, 13:39 In light of the mentions in the news media of the Central Command’s intent to issue administrative restrictive orders as part of the preparation for the destruction of Amona, Honenu is concerned that Major-General Roni Numa, the GOC of the Central Command, will issue orders in an attempt to bypass the courts and prevent legal protest.
Attorney Areyeh Arbus criticized the intent to issue dozens and possibly hundreds of administrative orders in Yehuda and Shomron in general and in the area of Ofra in particular, in order to prevent legitimate activities protesting the planned destruction of Amona during the next few days.
“We are certain that the decisions by the Supreme Court and by the Appeals Committee that have been handed down on the matter over the years and also those handed down very recently, have been studied and internalized, resulting in a procedure of issuing restrictive orders,” wrote Arbus and mentioned the decision by the President of the Military Court of Appeals, Judge Col. Netanel Benisho, which recently canceled an administrative order issued to a Shomron resident and ruled that, “Protest activities of this type do not justify, at all, the usage of heavy-handed administrative measures such as this.”
“The decision indicates that restrictive orders may not be issued in order to prevent legitimate protest activities,” wrote Arbus, who also mentioned the GOC’s obligation to grant a hearing before issuing an administrative order.
“Hastily issuing orders without granting a hearing before the decision is contrary to the ‘principles of natural justice’,” added Arbus and stressed that, “What is being described by the media is extremely disturbing, because it appears that there is a plan to take advantage of the short period of time during which use will be made of the restrictive orders to prevent legitimate protest for the purpose of avoiding and thwarting judicial review of the manner in which the orders were issued.”
Honenu demands that the GOC formally state, as soon as possible, that he does not intend to make improper use of administrative orders.
Arbus: “In light of recent media publications there is a concern that the Central Command is planning to issue “wholesale” restrictive orders without either holding a trial or presenting evidence, bypassing decisions handed down by various courts, and that is in order to silence legitimate protest of the planned destruction of Amona. We demand that the GOC make it clear that he will not carry out steps which the President of the Military Court of Appeals, Judge Col. Netanel Benisho, has described as heavy-handed and that he will not prevent legitimate protest by issuing administrative orders.”