Teenagers from across Israel circulated a petition this morning against the demolition of 15 houses in the Netiv Ha'avot neighborhood of Gush Etzion south of Jerusalem. About 1,600 youths have already signed the petition.

The Supreme Court in December 2016 ordered the destruction of Elazar's Netiv Ha'avot neighborhood, after a disputed strip of land was found to run through it.

In a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his governing coalition, the youths sought to halt the planned demolition.

The petition states: "We've all heard of the absurdity planned for Netiv Ha'avot. There is no justification for such destruction; destruction that harms the settlement enterprise in its entirety."

"The purpose of this petition is to convey to the decision-makers the message that this is a national struggle, and that we youths from all over the country demand that the status of Netiv Ha'avot be normalized.

"You are our duly elected representatives, and your job is to find a solution, with no excuses or evasion of responsibility. If we have to, we will go to Netiv Ha'avot ourselves - we and thousands of other young people - in order to protest the moral injustice that is liable to occur."

The headquarters of the struggle in Netiv Ha'avot said in response to the initiative, "We are thankful for the wonderful youth who didn't remain indifferent, who first voted with their feet and are now voting with their hands and fighting against the destruction of an Israeli town in the State of Israel. The petition you have advanced is excellent. It is very important for us to obtain as many signatures as possible. We stand eight weeks before the destruction with no real solution in hand. Pressure on decision-makers helps them and spurs them to act more. The goal is 10,000 signatures. Thanks to you, there are already 1,000! Keep spreading the word with all your might."