After an extended legal battle, the goat herd belonging to the Mikneh Avraham homestead in Gush Etzion has been returned to its owners, roughly three weeks after being confiscated by the Civil Administration.
The release came following action by the legal aid organization Honenu, which worked to secure the herd’s return. During the proceedings, it emerged that two goats died while in custody after being seized.
Attorney Avishag Schwartz, representing Honenu, filed a request for the herd’s release and argued that the Civil Administration exceeded its authority by attaching unlawful conditions to the return of the animals. “They conditioned the release on illegal terms," Schwartz said, noting that she petitioned the military court over the issue.
The goats had been held in quarantine at Gesher Adam in the Jordan Valley. Upon their release, the owners collected the herd and transported it back to Gush Etzion.
Attorney Schwartz said she hopes similar measures will not be used again. “The situation in which the Civil Administration conditioned the release on illegal terms will not recur, and we hope this was the last case in which such actions were taken," she said.