Court orders forces to stop demolishing settlement
Nine homes torn down in eastern Gush Etzion outpost of Ma’ale Rehavam before ruling given
Aaron Kalman is a former writer and breaking news editor for the Times of Israel
The president of the High Court of Justice issued a temporary injunction Wednesday forbidding the Israeli civil administration in the West Bank from demolishing homes in the Ma’ale Rehavam outpost in the eastern Etzion bloc, outside Jerusalem.
Nine buildings were torn down during the day before the injunction was granted, residents said.
Judge Asher Grunis ordered an end to the demolitions after accepting the settlers’ position that the homes mustn’t be touched so long as the question of their legality was being debated by the authorities.
Jewish outposts in the West Bank are a cause of constant friction between the international community and Israel, which from time to time sends security forces to tear down illegally built structures.
In the summer of 2012, Israel carried out two large evacuations, removing 50 families from the outpost of Migron and tearing down illegal buildings in the Ulpana neighborhood of Beit El.
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