Israel's Supreme Court
Israel's Supreme CourtIsrael news photo: Flash 90

The Supreme Court postponed the eviction of five families from caravans dedicated to the memories of murdered teens Naftali Frenkel (16), Gilad Sha'ar (16), and Eyal Yifrah (19) on Thursday, allowing the families, Defense Ministry, and the Gush Etzion Regional Cuncil two weeks to authorize the residences.

The five caravans were established in Tekoa Heh, in Judea, shortly after the teens' murders were revealed in international media.

Military and police forces arrived during the pre-dawn hours to carry out the eviction but were stopped by an emergency court order ahead of the afternoon session which produced the two-week delay.

Orders to demolish the caravans, which the government considers an “illegal outpost,” were issued last week - evoking outrage from Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee MK Ze'ev Elkin.

“I demand that the Defense Minister immediately put a halt to the process of demolition of these caravans,” said Elkin, himself a resident of Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem.

“Especially now, when so many residents are on the front lines fighting in Gaza, demolishing homes in Tekoa that were build on state land – and were built in memory of the three teens who were murdered by Hamas terrorists not far from the site – is a perversion of justice and common sense."

The shloshim, or traditional 30-day memorial ceremony, for the murdered teens was held on Tuesday.