State pledges to remove four illegal settler homes

The homes were illegally built in mid-July in the Etzion region of the West Bank.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
A view from Gush Etzion (photo credit: Courtesy)
A view from Gush Etzion
(photo credit: Courtesy)
The state has promised the High Court of Justice that it will remove four modular homes that were illegally built in mid-July on the outskirts of the Sde Boaz outpost in the Etzion region of the West Bank.
“The regional authorities plan to take enforcement measures and to deal with the illegal structures that are the object of the petition,” the state wrote in its response to the court.
In July, the Palestinian village of El-Khader petitioned the High Court to force the state to demolish the homes, which they said had been built on land that belongs to them.
The Sde Boaz outpost immediately submitted a counter-petition. The court has issued an injunction temporarily prohibiting any action against the structures.
The state asked the court to reject both petitions so that it can move forward with demolishing the structures.
It said that a land survey is underway that could reclassify the property from survey land to state land, but that the survey has yet to be completed.
The outpost itself is expected to be authorized, the state said. The only issue is the illegal nature of the construction and not whether or not the homes could eventually be permitted, the state explained.
The state said that it also planned to destroy the road beside the homes, which is on land that is considered private Palestinian property.
Sde Boaz spokesman Gidi Kalman said that the land survey was completed eight months ago and that the delay in its publication was why permits were not sought for the homes.
“If the state would do its job, we would know if it’s private or state land and then we could know whether or not to live there or not,” Kalman said.


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