Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Habayit Hayehudi) on Wednesday condemned the evacuation of the building in Netiv Ha’avot in Gush Etzion, and claimed that it was the spoiled fruit of previous governments “who for years supported the evacuation” of Jewish settlers from Judea and Samaria.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of Border Policemen arrived at the neighborhood in the Gush Etzion community of Elazar, in order to evacuate a carpentry workshop that had been slated for demolition by the High Court of Justice. The court insisted the entire building be razed, even though only part of it stands on disputed land.
The police encountered the local inhabitants and hundreds of supporters who were entrenched in the building and its surroundings, but finally completed their mission.
“The evacuation today is outrageous and unnecessary and stems from the obtuseness of the court,” Bennett said.
“We have already changed this policy,” Bennett said, referring to the current Netanyahu government, “and today in all its appearances before the High Court of Justice, the state is expressing its opposition to evacuations, precisely in order to prevent the recurrence of such cases.”
According to Bennett, Habayit Hayehudi has been leading a change in policy, so that in the future no more homes and settlements would be evacuated.
“We will continue to lead in providing a solution to Netiv Ha’Avot issue and will work closely with the residents,” Bennett vowed.
Neighborhood residents are hoping that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s plan to rescue six homes in the neighborhood will lead to a realistic attempt to legitimize all the homes which have been slated for demolition by the court no later than March 2018.