JERUSALEM (JTA) — All of the Jewish families living in the West Bank outpost of Migron reportedly have evacuated.
Families began moving out Sunday morning as border police went door to door in the outpost handing out eviction notices. Some of the 50 families living on the hilltop reportedly left Saturday night. At least 40 families had vacated by mid-afternoon.
Israel’s Supreme Court ruled last week that the outpost must be evacuated by Sept. 4. The ruling was in response to a petition filed by the families requesting a delay in the eviction until the modular homes being built for the evacuees are completed. They reportedly will not be habitable for several weeks. The families are expected to go to temporary housing in a nearby college dormitory until the modular homes are available.
On Sunday morning, dozens of young demonstrators came to Migron and took over a building that already had been evacuated in a show of protest. Police were removing them forcibly by mid-morning Sunday. Some 70 teens living in nearby settlements were forcibly removed from Migron on Sunday; at least four were detained by police.
Graffiti painted by the settlers on their homes included “Migron we shall return” and “the eternal people does not fear the long road," and “Begin = Sinai, Sharon = Gush Katif, Bibi = Migron. Only the Likud can.”
The outpost’s homes must be razed by Sept. 11, with the exception of the homes of the 17 families who claimed in a petition to the court that they have purchased or repurchased the plots on which their homes are located. That apartment building reportedly will be allowed to stand empty until the claim is investigated.
In March, the Supreme Court ruled against an attempt by the government to postpone to 2015 the demolition of Migron, which the Palestinians say is built on their land. Deferrals against the demolition stretch back to 2006.
