Peace Now petitioned the High Court of Justice on Thursday, demanding that court instruct Defense Minister Ehud Barak and head of the IDF Central Command, Major-General Gadi Shamni, to order the immediate cessation of construction activities in the West Bank settlement of Halamish – Neve Tzuf.

The organization further demands to know why no stop-work orders were issued, why the existing construction has not been demolished and why the necessary steps have not yet been taken to investigate and begin legal proceedings against those responsible for the illegal project.

According to the petition, the permanent structures were built on land belonging to the state.

Attorney Michael Sfard, who is representing Peace Now, says that the construction was carried out without building permits and that the project is in contradiction with the existing plans for the area.

"As with all the cases of illegal construction carried out by Jewish residents in the West Bank, here too the arm of the law is absent and furthermore, the plaintiff's attempts to alert (law enforcement agencies) of the developing situation were ignored," said Sfard.

The petition further asserts that Barak and Shamni have failed to enforce zoning and construction laws in the area under their jurisdiction, this despite their pledged to do so.

Peace Now is seeking an interim order that would force Barak and Shamni to prevent the existing structures from being populated or used.

The Defense Ministry has yet to submit its response to the petition.

The Binyamin Settlers Committee said following the petition: "Peace Now have sold their souls to the devil. They have become a pathetic gang obsessed only with driving Jews from their homes and destroying Jewish towns."