(JTA) – Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the demolition of 17 buildings in Netiv Haavot, a West Bank outpost 11 miles south of Jerusalem.
The ruling Thursday was given despite the state attorney’s position, which said the homes in question had been built legally.
The court gave the state a schedule for the destruction of all the homes in question within 18 months, affording a delay to allow residents to find housing solutions.
The left-wing Peace Now group filed the petition earlier this year along with several Palestinians who claim ownership of the land, the news site nrg reported.
“No one disputes that all the buildings were built illegally with neither zoning permits for the outpost nor necessary permissions,” the justices wrote in the verdict. “The state is obligated to enforce the zoning and building laws.”
Also on Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said the state will raze the West Bank settlement of Amona by the Dec. 25 deadline ordered by the Supreme Court last month in a separate review process.
The Amona outpost contains about 40 homes and was built on private Palestinian land. Since 1997, the Supreme Court has issued several demolition orders for the settlement.
Liberman also said Israel would evacuate Palestinians living in unauthorized homes in the nearby village of Susya, despite international pressure, including by the United States, on Israel to refrain from razing Susya.
