Government looks into transplanting Givat Ulpana buildings
Rather than demolish illegal homes, Defense Ministry checks whether they can be picked up and moved
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleIlan Ben Zion is an AFP reporter and a former news editor at The Times of Israel.
The Israeli government will explore the possibility of uprooting five buildings constructed on privately owned Palestinian land in the Givat Ulpana neighborhood of the West Bank settlement Beit El, and moving them to state-held land in the settlement, Channel 2 reported on Thursday.
The Defense Ministry will check the feasibility of transplanting the buildings wholly, so as to avoid their court-ordered demolition. The Supreme Court has ordered the buildings — home to 30 families — demolished by July 1.
The report cited the moving of historic Templar buildings in Tel Aviv to make way for an expanded roadway as a precedent for such an operation and said the ministry is consulting a Dutch engineering firm.
The Times of Israel Community.