Residents of the Mitzpe Kramim community in the Binyamin region of Samaria sent a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Defense and Justice Ministers demanding that the government act to legalize Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
Mitzpe Kramim was originally part of Kohav Hashahar, and was moved to its current location by the Israeli government itself, after an agreement on outposts was signed by the state under then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 1999 and then-Central Command leader Moshe Ya'alon. There are currently 43 families with 150 children living in Mitzoe Kramim.
In 2011, a petition was filed alleging that the community was established on private land, despite the fact that the nature of the land was apparently cleared by the state in signing the 1999 agreement. Former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon disputed the claim that the community was constructed on private land.
The letter reads: "After relocating, [which was] carried out by the State, we built and developed this community with the encouragement of government agencies and various government officials...We believed in the righteousness of our cause and, as is customary regarding property law, asked to exhaust the legal proceedings to determine proof of possession in the District Court. We recently filed affidavits in this case verifying that the State, through the former commander of the Central Command leader Bogie Ya'alon and all the top civil administration officials, chose this location knowing that it is 'kosher' for approval for development."
The letter continued: "Following the affidavits of various government officials, we expect that the State will formulate a new position in which it accepts responsibility for the settlers here in good faith, and that if it will be proven that the petitioners do have private ownership [of the land, the State] will offer a solution to compensate the owner monetarily or with another plot of land."