The little town of Bruchin, between Ariel and Rosh HaAyin, is one of many Jewish locales in Judea and Samaria defined as “illegal outposts” - even though their establishment was backed by a government decision.
Almost a full decade old, its 40 families still suffer from lack of certainty as to their status - and hope the incoming government will resolve it, once and for all, in favor of increased Jewish presence in the Land of Israel.
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Peace Now, which performs an unwitting service for Land of Israel lovers by providing full details about each and every Jewishly-populated site in Judea and Samaria, no matter how small, reports that Bruchin is populated mainly by students from the nearby Peduel Yeshiva. The town now boasts 45 caravans and 56 permanent structures, according to Peace Now.
State Prosecution Attorney Talia Sasson wrote a report on all such "outposts" for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon four years ago; she has since run for Knesset on behalf of the far-left Meretz party. Her report states that it is "unclear" whether government approval is still required for Bruchin. She wrote that the Civil Administration "claims" there has already been a government decision to establish a settlement on the site.
The Ministry of Housing has financed infrastructures to the tune of 2.35 million shekels, in addition to nearly another million for the construction of public buildings. Connection to the electricity grid has been approved.
The residents, for their part, know as a fact that their town has been government-approved, and hope that the political considerations leading to their delegitimization will soon disappear.