PM calls on court to authorize Migron agreement

50 Migron families sign document agreeing to refrain from any further construction at site of their current outpost.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
Migron resident Shuki Sat signs agreement to relocate 390 (photo credit: Tovah Lazaroff)
Migron resident Shuki Sat signs agreement to relocate 390
(photo credit: Tovah Lazaroff)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday called on the High Court of Justice to authorize an agreement to relocate the Migron outpost two kilometers away from its present location in the West Bank.
“We ask that the court adopt this agreement, which was achieved with great effort,” Netanyahu said from the Knesset plenum.
In August, the court had ordered the state to evacuate the outpost by the end of March. It said that the outpost had been built without the proper permits on land classified by the state as belonging to private Palestinians.
Late Sunday night, all 50 Migron families signed a one-page document in which they agreed to relocate and to refrain from any further construction at the site of their current outpost.
The Justice Ministry on behalf of the state is now expected to ask the High Court of Justice to nullify its order to destroy Migron, based on the agreement the government reached with the Migron settlers through the efforts of Minister-without- Portfolio Bennie Begin (Likud). Migron settlers will have until November 30, 2015, to build authorized homes in an area of their hilltop on state land next to the Psagot winery.
As of press time, the ministry had yet to submit the document to the court. The text of the document, which provides exact details of the agreement, has not been made public.
Netanyahu on Monday said he welcomed the agreement and thanked Begin for his efforts.
“He worked day and night, with boundless dedication, in the face of many obstacles, but he succeeded in overcoming them and in leading a complex effort,” he said.
“You [Begin] are an example of responsible and determined leadership,” Netanyahu continued.
He also thanked the Migron residents. “I understand the emotional difficulties but I think that, in the end, they acted responsibly,” he said.
Peace Now, which originally filed a petition against the outpost in 2006, has opposed the agreement. It has argued that the settlers will ultimately be allowed to keep their outpost and at the same time receive a newly authorized settlement.
Israel has promised the international community that it will not approve new settlements.