The High Court of Justice on Wednesday approved the eviction of roughly 1,300 Palestinians from eight villages in the culmination of a two-decade-long legal dispute.
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Justices David Mintz, Ofer Grosskopf, and Isaac Amit rejected claims from the Palestinian petitioners that they lived in the villages near Hebron before the army declared the area a training zone in 1981.
Each petitioner was ordered to pay $5,900 in expenses.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, representing the petitioners, presented aerial footage to attempt to show the villages had existed for 45 years.
The Israel Defense Forces argued that they only occasionally entered the area during seasonal migration, according to The Times of Israel, and that they had no claim to the land.
The Palestinians living in the eight villages, who can now be legally expelled, argued against the decision.
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"This is the final proof for us that there is no justice to be sought for Palestinians in Israeli courts. There's only justice for Jews," said Nidal Younes, the director of an unofficial local council of the villages, according to The Times of Israel report.
The court also rejected the claim that expelling civilians from the area was a breach of international law, saying that when it contradicts Israeli law, the latter triumphs, according to a Haaretz report.
"The vital importance of this firing zone to the Israel Defense Forces stems from the unique topographical character of the area, which allows for training methods specific to both small and large frameworks, from a squad to a battalion," the IDF said in court filings.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
