The clock is ticking as the government seeks a solution to avoid evicting residents of Beit El’s Ulpana neighborhood,  a move that must be carried out at the end of the month in accordance with a ruling of the High Court of Justice. Realizing the issue may result in the collapse of the government, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has instructed his closed aides to “find a solution” to avoid a coalition crisis.

Leading the threat faced by the prime minister is Vice Premier Moshe Ya’alon, who released statements to the media that evicting residents from their neighborhood of Beit l will destabilize the government and perhaps lead to a collapse of the coalition. Efforts are underway to find a way to circumvent the High Court’s ruling. Simultaneously, Defense Minister Ehud Barak is under attack from right-wing cabinet members who accuse him of being overzealous in his desire to comply with the court’s rulings when it comes to ousting residents of yishuvim from their homes.

To date, Mr. Netanyahu has managed to walk the line as his administration already addressed the issue of Migron and that court-ordered eviction. There are other communities that are also slated for removal. While the decision to oust residents is the court’s and not the government, Mr. Netanyahu is accused of foot dragging in seeking a solution to circumvent the court as well as permitting Barak too much freedom to implement his left-wing agenda regarding residents of Yehuda and Shomron.

Speaking to the media ahead of the Sunday morning weekly cabinet meeting, 30 Nissan 5772, Barak explained that if it is indeed the case that the homes in question are built on private land, there will be no alternative but to evict the residents or seek to reach a compensatory agreement with the owner to permit them to remain.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)