From the LA Times:
JERUSALEM “” Hoping to prevent the Israeli government from demolishing synagogues in recently abandoned settlements of the Gaza Strip, the nation’s Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to ask Palestinian officials to safeguard the buildings.
The court is weighing an appeal that argues that Israel would violate Jewish values and set a dangerous precedent by demolishing the synagogues, as called for under the government’s plan to withdraw from Gaza and part of the West Bank. Israel completed its removal of nearly 9,000 settlers from those areas two weeks ago and since then has demolished all private homes.
The government’s plan calls for razing more than two dozen synagogues to prevent them from being turned into platforms for celebratory displays by Palestinian militant groups. Officials decided to remove usable items and to transport to Israel two mobile homes that had served as synagogues.
A three-judge panel of the high court initially sided with the government decision, but the matter was appealed to a larger group of seven justices. The appeal picked up steam after religious authorities ruled late last month that the demolition would violate Jewish law.
On Tuesday, the larger panel said it wanted the Israeli government to ask the Palestinian Authority or international community to safeguard the buildings…
Color us skeptical, but the chances of the Palestinian Authority protecting Synagogues is about equal to a snowball’s chance in….