Slippery Slope

The Prime Minister and settler representatives have reached a compromise regarding the removal of the illegal outpost of Migron, according to which the settlers will move to buildings which will be constructed for them in a nearby area, and the permanent structures of Migron will not be demolished, but would rather be converted to an agricultural farm.

According to Thabet Bashir, Head of the Jinspot village council, the residents of the Palestinian village have not been officially notified about the details of a compromise agreement reached by the state and settlers from the Ramat Gilad outpost, even though the outpost is built on their privately-owned land.  Two of the agreement’s clauses state that the settlers’ use of land registered as private land will cease only if “another party’s rights to the land will be proven”.  ”How will we prove our ownership if nobody notifies us that we must prove our ownership?”, asks Bashir.  The Palestinian residents of the area have claimed that the army, Civil Administration, and settlers “have prevented local residents from accessing their land for cultivation, which would allow the authorities to proclaim it as state land”.

(Hebrew)