Court to hear update on Migron plan

Petition by Peace Now, Palestinian farmers calls for the dismantling of unauthorized outpost.

By DAN IZENBERG
sign to migron 248 AJ (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
sign to migron 248 AJ
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
The High Court of Justice is due on Monday to hold another hearing on a petition filed by Peace Now and Palestinian farmers calling for the dismantling of the illegal outpost of Migron, which the farmers claim is built on their land. A few days ago the state filed a brief with the court informing it that plans to move the settlers to the West Bank settlement of Adam were making headway but that it would still take an estimated two or three years before their new homes would be ready. The agreement to move the settlers to Adam was reached between the Defense Ministry and the settlement leadership. However, the Migron residents themselves have declared that they will not leave the outpost despite the agreement . Peace Now and the Palestinians, represented by attorneys Michael Sfard and Shlomy Zecharya filed the petition in 2006, demanding that the civil administration implement orders it issued to demolish the buildings in Migron because they had been built illegally. Over the next two years, the government kept asking the court for more time because it wanted to negotiate an agreement with settlement leaders so that the outpost would be removed without conflict. In November 2008, the state announced that it had reached agreement with settlement leaders to move the Migron residents, numbering about 50 families, to houses in a new neighborhood of Adam. Although there was a general plan for the new neighborhood allocating the land for residential purposes, there was no detailed plan which would allow for immediate housing construction. In its most recent brief to the court, the state announced that it had now prepared a detailed plan for the neighborhood, including provisions for 1,450 housing units. The plan must now be deposited for two months, during which the public may file objections against it. The plan will focus primarily on the first 190 apartments of the new neighborhood, including the 50 designated to house the Migron residents.