Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday that the army would not expel Jewish residents of towns in Judea and Samaria lacking government authorization before 2008. In a response to the Supreme Court, Barak said that many of the communities could gain legal authorization as part of a deal with Yesha leaders.
The court had asked Barak to respond to a petition from the extreme-left “Peace Now” group, which demanded that Israel demolish dozens of Judea and Samaria towns that have not yet been authorized. Peace Now head Yariv Oppenheimer called on the court to reject Barak’s testimony and “force the government to enforce the rule of law and evacuate the outposts immediately."