Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel called on the Supreme Court to approve postponement of the demolition of homes in the Netiv Ha'avot neighborhood.
"We are making every effort to achieve a postponement regarding Netiv Ha'avot to allow construction of the alternative housing for families whose homes are being demolished," said Minister Ariel.
The Supreme Court in December 2016 ordered the destruction of 15 houses in Elazar's Netiv Ha'avot neighborhood, after a disputed strip of land was found to run through them. The remaining homes in the neighborhood are entirely on state land and will not be touched. The courts refused the idea of compensation for the land and denied a request to destroy just the parts of the 15 homes containing disputed land, ruling they must be totally demolished.
The Minister explained that rejection of his request would mean a wholly gratuitous transfer of the residents for several months to guest houses, since the allocation of temporary caravillas on nearby land occurred just a short while ago and they not yet livable.
"There's no point in moving them around, children and adults, in guest houses and field schools for several months. We await the Supreme Court's decision," Ariel noted.