Migron (Israeli settlement)

Migron
מגרון‎
Migron is located in the Central West Bank
Migron
Migron
Coordinates: 31°53′23″N 35°16′17″E / 31.88972°N 35.27139°E / 31.88972; 35.27139
DistrictJudea and Samaria Area
CouncilMateh Binyamin
RegionWest Bank
Founded1999 (re-founded in 2001)
Population
 (2011)
260

Migron (Hebrew: מגרון) is an Israeli outpost in the West Bank, located within 2 km of a former outpost by the same name, that was relocated to its present site on 2 September 2012. The outpost was located 14 kilometers north of Jerusalem, it fell under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. It was the largest outpost of its kind, with a population of 300.[1] The council says it was founded in 1999 and re-founded in 2001,[2] on land registered before 1967 by the villagers of Burqa.[3] The Israeli government contributed NIS 4.3 million from the Construction and Housing Ministry to build Migron.[4] The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, whereas Israeli outposts, like Migron, are considered illegal not only under international law but also under Israeli law.[5]

Responding to a petition filed in 2006 by Peace Now, Israel's High Court of Justice ruled on 2 August 2011 that Migron was illegally built on lands belonging to Palestinians and ordered Israel to dismantle the outpost by April 2012.[6] The Israeli government decided not to obey the court order, and instead pursued an agreement with the settlers that gave them time to delay the move until 30 November 2015. However, on 25 March 2012 the High Court reaffirmed its earlier ruling, noting the government had admitted it was built on privately owned Palestinian land,[6] and ordered the IDF to evacuate Migron by 1 August 2012, while making clear that this court ruling is an obligation, not a choice.[7] On 2 September 2012 the evacuation of Migron was complete, after the residents had agreed to relocate to a new site a few hundred meters south of the former location. The site, built by the government in great haste, consists of 50 prefabricated housing units built on state land, and has a status of a government-approved settlement.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference HCJ-ruling-Haaretz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Profile Migron". Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  3. ^ Amira Hass, Migron’s Palestinian neighbors waiting to see if they get land back', at Haaretz 27 March 2012.
  4. ^ Lazaroff, Tovah (29 August 2012). "High Court orders Migron outpost evacuated". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  5. ^ "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  6. ^ a b Chaim Levinson 02.08.11 (2 August 2011). "Israel's Supreme Court orders state to dismantle largest West Bank outpost". Haaretz. Retrieved 25 March 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Tovah Lazaroff, Joanna Paraszcuk. "Court says Migron must be evacuated by August 1". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 25 March 2012. As the state has made clear, no body is authorized to permit the establishment of a settlement on private land