Yesterday it was reported widely in the news how Boaz Yonah was caught in Italy.

Yonah is the CEO of Heftzibah, the construction company that went bankrupt a month or so ago, leaving many families without homes after they shelled out all their savings to buy a place. Yonah skipped town and the police could not locate him. He is suspected for tax fraud, illegal business practices, money laundering and other stuff.

Anyway, they track this guy down by talking to his dumb blonde wife. She claims to have no idea where he is and she has not seen him and he abandoned them and they have no money for living, blah blah blah. Sure enough, she was too stupid to think the police might have tapped her phone. She called good old Boaz and they met up in Italy where the police caught him having lunch with her.

The funny part of the story is the police saw him and identified him but were not 100% sure it was him. The policeman called out "Yonah!" and he, instinctively, turned around. That sealed the identification.

That reminded me of the old Brady Bunch episode where Mrs. Brady (I think) was in court for some traffic accident in which the other guy was claiming damages like whiplash. Mr. Brady threw down his briefcase creating a sudden loud noise to which the guy with "whiplash" turned around instinctively, showing his true health situation. Needless to say that was the end of the court case.

Sorry, but the story reminded me of the Brady Bunch episode and I could not resist posting it...

or is he?

As a result of the recent bankruptcy of a major construction company, Heftziba, many people who bought apartments in projects being built by Heftziba have moved into their partially built apartments as a form of squatting in an attempt to lay claim to their apartments and possibly have preference in the courts over other debtors.

Without discussing the whole Heftziba issue right now, I just want to get into one aspect of it.

The problem with these residents squatting is in many Heftziba projects, including Beitar Illit, Bet Shemesh, and Modiin Ilit. The Heftziba project of of Modiin Ilit has a unique problem though.

The project of Modiin Ilit is being built upon "disputed land". Peace Now petitioned the High Court to force Heftziba to stop building there becase, they claimed, the land being built upon is owned by Palestinians and the whole neighborhood is illegal.

After the bankruptcy broke and the squatters entered the apartments, the courts were asked to allow evacuation of the squatters. The courts decided there was no need to force an immediate evacuation and they preferred to wait it out and see how the bankruptcy proceeds. A decision will be made at a later time about the squatters, and about the squatters in all the various projects.

The State does not really want to get involved in evicting these squatters. On Monday the court ruled, due to a petition, that the State is allowed remove the squatters (of the Modiin Ilit project only). The State petitioned the court asking whether it is obligated to or whether they are allowed to.

It seems that State is against having another disengagement. They must have decided after Amona, Gush Katif, Homesh, Hebron's house, and others, that this is not the way to go.

Or is it only because the residents in question are haredim living in a haredi neighborhood that the State does not want to remove them from these houses built on Palestinian land? Because they don't want to start up with the Haredi parties that are much more organized and committed than the settler parties?

hmmmmmmm