Shlomo Ne'eman
Shlomo Ne'emanHillel Meir/ TPS

Government ministers will vote on Sunday on a bill to create a new neighborhood for residents of Elazar's Netiv Ha'avot neighborhood.

The Supreme Court in December 2016 ordered the destruction of 15 of the 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.

Land in Judea and Samaria was once classified as state land, private property or of undefined status. Several years ago, the Supreme Court decided that land of undefined status is to be considered private Arab land.

The bill will include compensation for those residents whose homes are slated for destruction.

The new neighborhood, which will be build in Gush Etzion between the towns of Elazar and Alon Shvut, will include 350 housing units.

The copy of the bill shown to Arutz Sheva states that the government will approve transferring 60 million NIS ($17,194,800) to the Gush Etzion Regional Council for the purpose of creating infrastructure, acquiring mobile buildings, and creating a temporary site for the residents.

Out of the 60 million, NIS, 24 million ($6,877,920) will be given to the families as compensation for their eviction and the destruction of their homes, and 2 million ($573,160) will be used to pay rent for guest rooms for the residents during a period of up to three months.

Gush Etzion Council Head Shlomo Ne'eman said, "In the name of Gush Etzion's residents, I congratulate the government for legalizing the Netiv Ha'avot neighborhood and instructing all government bodies to work to quickly compensate those who were evicted, and to create a new neighborhood for them between Elazar and Alon Shvut."

"We thank Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and those working in his office for their efforts to make this happen. We also thank the Finance Minister, Education Minister, Interior Minister, and Justice Minister, who personally worked towards this goal and made this a top priority for the government. We hope that the shock of the impending destruction will bring in its wake a period of construction and growth."