Looted Migron homes
Looted Migron homesYonat Eliasian

Residents of Migron who were expelled from their homes two months ago were shocked recently to discover that Arabs had looted their abandoned homes.

Shuki Sat, a resident of Migron, told Arutz Sheva on Thursday that the Arab looting was made possible because the IDF, which was supposed to continue securing Plot 10 that the residents had legally purchased from Arabs, abandoned the area.

In August, the Supreme Court of Justice ruled that the residents of Migron must be evicted by September 4, and most of the buildings there razed by September 11.

The residents had filed a request with the Court asking that their eviction be postponed until the temporary caravan site in Givat HaYekev, where the residents are to live in accordance with a relocation agreement they signed, is completed.

The Court, however, ruled that there is no reason to delay the eviction. It also rejected a petition by a group of 17 families from Plot 10, who requested to stay on their land after they legally purchased it. The Court ruled that the homes on Plot 10 will not be razed until their legal status is resolved. The residents were evicted from their homes on September 2, despite both pleas.

According to Sat, "Following another appeal to the Supreme Court by Peace Now, claiming that the eviction was not completed, the Court instructed that the roads and the entire infrastructure in Migron must be demolished as well. The Ministry of Defense recently began to destroy all the infrastructure and roads other than those that led to Plot 10. A few days ago we discovered to our amazement that the army just completely abandoned the area.”

He added that as part of the agreements reached with the State, the IDF was to continue to secure the buildings in the areas that were legally purchased by the residents. "There was a clear agreement that the army will guard the buildings until we decide with the Civil Administration what uses will be made of these structures. We thought we would set up an educational institution or perhaps a therapeutic farm,” said Sat.

"But a few days ago we suddenly discovered that the army was no longer there. There was no guard and the Arabs simply came, looted the houses and broke the windows, among other things,” he added.

Sat noted that since the army abandoned the area, a security company has been hired to guard the buildings. "It's a place about which there is a consensus that the homes are owned by Jews. For the time being, the community and the local council took responsibility and brought civilian security guards to guard what still remains there.”

Sat said that the residents of Migron will have to think very carefully about whether to vote for the Likud in the next election.

"I'm hoping that on election day, the religious-Zionist public will come to its senses and remember who destroyed the Ulpana neighborhood, who destroyed Migron, who froze construction and who was involved in the expulsion from Gush Katif,” he said. “It wasn’t Meretz, it wasn’t the Labor party, but the ruling party - Likud. This is not a right-wing party.”

Arutz Sheva has asked the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit for comment regarding the abandonment of the area, but has yet to receive one.

Looted Migron homes. Photos by: Yonat Eliasian