JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Cabinet unanimously approved a proposal to establish a temporary housing site for residents of the Migron outpost, which is scheduled to be demolished in August.
The proposal approved Sunday calls for the construction of temporary housing on Givat Hayekev, or Winery Hill, in nearby Kochav Yaakov, a religious community in the West Bank of more than 1,000 families. The construction must be livable by July 15, two weeks before the slated razing of Migron.
An alternative site in the nearby settlement of Adam is also approved for preparation in the proposal, in case the Givat Hayekev site cannot be made habitable in time.
Israel’s Supreme Court ruled last month against an attempt by the government to postpone to 2015 the demolition of Migron, which the Palestinians say is built on their land.
After repeated deferrals dating back to 2006, the demolition was scheduled to take place at the end of March. But the court gave the state until August to arrange an orderly transfer of Migron’s approximately 50 families.
The settlers, who deny that Migron is built on private Palestinian land, had signed a deal with the Netanyahu government agreeing to relocate to a nearby hill over the next three years.
