Netanyahu’s rivals: Finish land survey of Sde Boaz outpost
The Civil Administration must complete its survey of the property on which the Sde Boaz outpost is built and which is presumed to be state land, right-wing politicians said on Wednesday.
At issue is the fate of four new homes in the outpost, which settlers moved into in July, immediately upon completion of the construction.
The land is now classified as survey property, which means that its status is unclear.
In July the Palestinian village of El-Khader petitioned the High Court of Justice to force the state to demolish the homes, which they said were built on land belonging to their village.
The Sde Boaz outpost has argued that no decision should be made with regard to the homes until completion of the land survey report, explaining that it believes the property to be state land.
The outpost has filed a petition to block any state plans to demolish the structures. The state is due to respond to the petition on Sunday, but had initially been expected to do so on Wednesday.
The Civil Administration began to survey the property in 2012 under the direction of former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon. The study is an investigation of the property status of the entire outpost of 30 families, as well as the land on which the four homes were constructed.
Reclassification of the property as state land would pave the way for the authorization of the outpost, which is located outside the Neveh Daniel settlement in the Etzion region of the West Bank.
Among those who spoke out Wednesday about the land survey were two of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political rivals, Gideon Sa’ar and former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon.
“The state has conveyed a message of weakness by dragging its feet with regard to the completion of the land survey for Sde Boaz,” Sa’ar tweeted.
He added that it harmed Israel’s struggle against Palestinian efforts to strengthen their hold on Area C of the West Bank.
“There are those who prefer their political survival rather than standing for national interests,” said Ya’alon.
“This is the land of prime strategic importance to the territorial continuity of Gush Etzion, and Defense Minister [Avigdor Liberman] should have long ago declared its status,” said MK Bezalel Smotrich (Bayit Yehudi).
Both he and MK Shuli Moalem-Refaeli (Bayit Yehudi) also took issue with reports that the survey might not be completed for a year-and-a-half.
According to Smotrich and Sde Boaz residents Gidi Kelman and Tzvi Kamm, the report has been completed but has yet to be published.
Liberman’s spokesman denied that claim and said that land surveys were complex and therefore time-consuming.
He added that the four homes had been built illegally and without permission.
According to the 2005 outpost report by Talia Sasson, the outpost was built with NIS 200,000 from the Construction Ministry but no permits were ever issued.
Israel presumes that the Etzion region will become part of its sovereign borders in any final-status agreement with the Palestinians.