JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Supreme Court delayed by three months the scheduled demolition of homes in a West Bank outpost built completely or in part on Palestinian-owned land.
The court on Wednesday agreed to a government request to postpone the demolition in the Netiv Haavot outpost while it prepares temporary housing for the 15 families who will be displaced by the demolition.
The court denied a request to only partially destroy 6 of the houses, which only reach into Palestinian land by a few feet, however.
The court stressed that it was the final postponement of its decision to raze the homes.
On Sunday, Israel’s Cabinet approved a proposal to begin legalizing Netiv Haavot, which is located 11 miles south of Jerusalem in the Etzion bloc.
The proposal includes funds to build the temporary neighborhood for the displaced families and a building plan for the construction of 350 new housing units at the outpost.
Hundreds of settler youth had been expected to flood the settlement to try to prevent the March 6 demolition.
