Rivlin at Migron
Rivlin at MigronHillel Meir

The government asked the High Court Sunday to delay for 30 days the destruction of Migron homes and the expulsion of its residents because of fears of violence during the Arab holy month of Ramadan, which began Friday.  

Migron is located in the Binyamin region of northern Samaria (Shomron).

The request for the postponement was based on two factors: feared violence and delays in preparing an alternative site for residents.

Government attorneys noted that the head of Central Command, Nitzan Alon, anticipates that nationalist protests against the expulsions and demolitions will ignite Arab violence during Ramadan, a favorite period of activity for Arab terrorists.

The petition to the court also states that there have been slight delays in preparing the Givat HaYekev location to house the proposed expulsion victims.

The High Court a year ago ordered the Migron homes to be demolished because their homes were built on land alleged to be owned by Palestinian Authority Arabs. It was disclosed three weeks ago that most of the land has since been bought by the Israeli residents from the alleged owners, and a Cabinet committee on Jewish community in Judea and Samaria has said it will not object to a petition by 17 of the Migron families whose homes are on land that was bought.

The Civil Lands Administration is studying the purchase documents.

Despite recent land purchases, attorneys for the government are not asking for a cancellation of the demolition orders, reasoning that the government previously has agreed to carry out the destruction.