State asks court to delay outpost eviction for three months

The government asked the High Court Friday to delay until the summer the evacuation of the Givat Ha’Ulpana outpost, which is slated to be torn down in the coming days.

The state’s petition to the court asks for the bench to reconsider its ruling for the outpost to be torn down by May 1, and asks for a three month extension in carrying out the order, should it stand.

Speaking to Israel Radio Friday morning, Minister Benny Begin, who previously brokered a deal between the government and settlers in the Migron outpost, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet had decided to instruct the State Prosecutor to ask the High Court for a three-month delay in evacuating 30 families from the oupost, which is on the outskirts of the Beit El settlement.

The petition argues that the state’s enforcement resources should be directed to new illegal outposts and not established ones like Givat Ha’ulpana, according to Ynet.

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Last year, the court ordered the outpost abandoned after it was found to have been built on Palestinian land.

The delay request would follow closely on the heels of a government decision this week to retroactively sanction three other outposts in the West Bank, a move that drew harsh condemnations from world leaders.

Begin told Israel Radio that tearing down the homes now could cause irreversible damage before the court has a chance to decide on a petition by settlers over the legal status of the land.

The decision to ask for a delay was made by Netanyahu’s inner cabinet of top ministers earlier this week. That panel included Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who had earlier said the outpost residents should move to a more legally stable piece of land.

Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon has threatened that Netanyahu’s coalition could fall if the evacuation goes through.