Migron (village)
Encyclopedia
Migron is an unauthorized Israeli outpost in the northern West Bank
. Located 14 kilometers north of Jerusalem, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. It is the largest unauthorized settlement in the West Bank and home to approximately 50 families. The outpost was founded in 1999 and re-founded in 2001 according to Mateh Binyamin Regional Council.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this. According to the 2005 Sasson Report
, the outpost was established illegally on private Palestinian
land, without official clearance, and received about four million NIS in government funding. Settlements built on privately owned Palestinian land are not only considered illegal by international, but also by Israeli law.
On 2 August 2011, Israel's Supreme Court issued a ruling ordering the state to dismantle the outpost by April 2012. According to news reports, the ruling may have to be revisited after a damages suit against the Israeli state filed by Palestinians who claim ownership of the land was withdrawn in November 2011.
, 7.7 km east of the Green line
, outside of the Separation Barrier
. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. It is situated on a dominant hilltop over Highway 60
, the main road that connects the northern West Bank with the southern areas, between the settlement Ofra
and the Shaar Binyamin Industrial Park. It covers an area of 360 dunam
(0.360 squarekilometers) of land privately owned by Palestinians.
Migron is named after the village Migron mentioned in the Hebrew Bible
in Isaiah
10:28 as a village somewhere on the route between Ai
and Mikhmas
along which the Assyrian army advanced.
Ma'avar Michmash or Migron South is an outpost of Migron established in 2004 with two containers, according to Peace Now.
published by the Israeli government in 2005, Migron was established a few days prior to Operation Defensive Shield
in April 2002. At first a request for a cellular
radio tower on the hill top was filed, and the request was granted by Israel Defence Forces in spite of the fact that the land for which the request was filed was private Palestinian land. Some time later five caravans were placed next to the radio tower and although the caravans had no authorization, no authorization was given to evacuate them. The report also states that the infrastructure for Migron was fully funded by the Housing Ministry
at the cost of four million NIS, even though it was on private Palestinian lands, with no statutory planning
and no cabinet decision regarding the construction.
and Deir Dibwan
. In July 2008, additional questions were raised as to the ownership of some of the land that Migron stands on. According to a news report, Abd Allatif Hassan Sumarin, who supposedly sold a plot of land to Binyamin Regional Council owned Al Wattan Ltd in 2004, had been dead since 1961. These suspicions were later confirmed by an Associated Press
investigation.
The settlers of Migron have been expecting the evacuation of the outpost since Ariel Sharon
announced its dismantling in 2003. On 17 December 2006, the Israeli government, responding to a petition from Peace Now and Palestinians from Burqa and Deir Dibwan, admitted that the outpost stands on private Palestinian land and concluded that there was never any authorization from any official granting its establishment. On 12 February 2007, the Israeli High Court of Justice ordered the government to submit within 60 days an updated report on the steps being taken to remove the outpost. On 1 May 2007, the government informed the court that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
has instructed the Defence Ministry to prepare an outpost evacuation plan within the next two months, requesting another 60 days extension in the hearings. On 8 July 2007, the government requested a further 90 days extension, claiming that the new Minister of Defence, Ehud Barak
, needed time to formulate his position on the issue.
On 23 January 2008, the government informed the court that “The Prime Minister and Defense Minister have decided that the outpost Migron, which was constructed on Private Palestinian land, will be evacuated within six months, that is until the beginning of August 2008”. In addition the statement also expresses that the Defense Ministry reserves the right to “request from the Supreme Court an extension on this date, if it deems necessary”. The promise was accepted by the Supreme Court on 6 February 2008. On 13 August 2008, the government declared that the Yesha Council
had agreed to decide within 30 days to which location to transfer the outpost, on November 24 2008 the government signed an agreement with the settlers to remove the outpost to the settlement of Geva Binyamin
. On November 26, the Supreme Court ordered the government to explain within 45 days why it didn't remove the outpost.
In her summation Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch
criticized the State “Today you are submitting papers full of promises, but without any knowledge of who will actually see this through in 3 years time, your statements have turned into meaningless words. In your statements you have revealed some of your secrets: you explain how the evacuation will be carried out, but you never actually say that it will be carried out”. On 2 February 2009 the government responded with the declaration that they intend to construct a new neighbourhood in an existing settlement for the evacuees of the Migron outpost. On 28 June 2009, the government submitted an affidavit to the courts, according to which the Ministry of Defense authorized the construction of a new neighborhood in the existing settlements of Geva Binyamin. The construction would include 50 housing units for the evacuees of Migron and another 1,450 units for new settlers.
, including Tzipi Hotovely
(Likud), who called it “hypocritical”, and Moshe Feiglin
(Likud), who accused the Supreme Court of denying Jewish land rights. The Yesha Council
accused the court of applying a double standard and of needlessly inflaming tensions. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz
called the ruling “one of the most serious indictments ever filed against Israel's political establishment, legal system and security apparatus”. According to news reports, the ruling, based on the Palestinian claim of ownership of the land, may have to be revisited after a damages suit against the State filed by the Palestinians who claim ownership of the land was withdrawn in November 2011.
. In response to it, Jewish settlers set a mosque
in the West Bank village of Qusra
, south of Nablus
, on fire.
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
. Located 14 kilometers north of Jerusalem, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. It is the largest unauthorized settlement in the West Bank and home to approximately 50 families. The outpost was founded in 1999 and re-founded in 2001 according to Mateh Binyamin Regional Council.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this. According to the 2005 Sasson Report
Sasson Report
The Sasson Report is an official Israeli government report published on 8 March 2005 that concluded that Israeli state bodies had been discreetly diverting millions of shekels to build West Bank settlements and outposts that were illegal under Israeli law...
, the outpost was established illegally on private Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
land, without official clearance, and received about four million NIS in government funding. Settlements built on privately owned Palestinian land are not only considered illegal by international, but also by Israeli law.
On 2 August 2011, Israel's Supreme Court issued a ruling ordering the state to dismantle the outpost by April 2012. According to news reports, the ruling may have to be revisited after a damages suit against the Israeli state filed by Palestinians who claim ownership of the land was withdrawn in November 2011.
Location
Migron is located 14 kilometers north of Jerusalem in the northern West BankWest Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, 7.7 km east of the Green line
Green Line (Israel)
Green Line refers to the demarcation lines set out in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...
, outside of the Separation Barrier
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...
. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. It is situated on a dominant hilltop over Highway 60
Highway 60 (Israel)
Highway 60 is a north-south intercity road in Israel and the West Bank that stretches from Beersheba to Nazareth.-Route:The route is also known as the "Route of the Patriarchs" since it follows the path of the ancient highway that runs along the length of the central watershed, and which...
, the main road that connects the northern West Bank with the southern areas, between the settlement Ofra
Ofra
Ofra is an Israeli settlement located in the northern West Bank in the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. It is situated on the main road between Jerusalem and Nablus , 25 km from Jerusalem and has 3,200 inhabitants ....
and the Shaar Binyamin Industrial Park. It covers an area of 360 dunam
Dunam
A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...
(0.360 squarekilometers) of land privately owned by Palestinians.
Migron is named after the village Migron mentioned in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
in Isaiah
Isaiah
Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...
10:28 as a village somewhere on the route between Ai
Ai (Bible)
Ai refers to one or two places in ancient Israel:*A city mentioned along with Heshbon by Jeremiah 49:3, whose location is currently unknown, and which may or may not be the same as:...
and Mikhmas
Mikhmas
Mikhmas is a Palestinian town in the Jerusalem Governorate, located 8 kilometers Northeast of Jerusalem in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 1,878 in 2006....
along which the Assyrian army advanced.
Ma'avar Michmash or Migron South is an outpost of Migron established in 2004 with two containers, according to Peace Now.
Population
Migron is the largest unauthorized settlement in the West Bank. It is home to some 50 Jewish families, approximately 300 people who live in about 60 mobile homes.Legal status
The international community considers all Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law. Settlements on privately owned Palestinian land are also illegal by Israeli law.Sasson Report
According to the Sasson ReportSasson Report
The Sasson Report is an official Israeli government report published on 8 March 2005 that concluded that Israeli state bodies had been discreetly diverting millions of shekels to build West Bank settlements and outposts that were illegal under Israeli law...
published by the Israeli government in 2005, Migron was established a few days prior to Operation Defensive Shield
Operation Defensive Shield
Operation Defensive Shield was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002, during the course of the Second Intifada. It was the largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. The operation was an attempt by the Israeli army to stop the...
in April 2002. At first a request for a cellular
Cellular network
A cellular network is a radio network distributed over land areas called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver known as a cell site or base station. When joined together these cells provide radio coverage over a wide geographic area...
radio tower on the hill top was filed, and the request was granted by Israel Defence Forces in spite of the fact that the land for which the request was filed was private Palestinian land. Some time later five caravans were placed next to the radio tower and although the caravans had no authorization, no authorization was given to evacuate them. The report also states that the infrastructure for Migron was fully funded by the Housing Ministry
Housing and Construction Minister of Israel
The Ministry of Housing and Construction is a portfolio in the Israeli cabinet. The ministry was created in 1961, and until 1977 it was known as the Ministry of Housing. Construction was also previously part of the Labour and Construction ministry during the provisional government between 1948 and...
at the cost of four million NIS, even though it was on private Palestinian lands, with no statutory planning
Statutory planning
Urban planning is not just concerned with the making of plans but also with the management of development to ensure that it accords with the objectives of the plan and is developed to the benefit of the general public...
and no cabinet decision regarding the construction.
Land ownership
According to the Israeli organisation Peace Now, most of the land Migron sits on is owned by a number of Palestinian families living in the nearby villages of BurqaBurqa, Ramallah
Burqa is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located east of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics , the town had a population of approximately 2,090 inhabitants in the 2007 census....
and Deir Dibwan
Deir Dibwan
Deir Dibwan is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank 7 kilometers east of Ramallah. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics the town had a population of approximately 5,252 inhabitants in mid-year 2006. There were 5,016 people from...
. In July 2008, additional questions were raised as to the ownership of some of the land that Migron stands on. According to a news report, Abd Allatif Hassan Sumarin, who supposedly sold a plot of land to Binyamin Regional Council owned Al Wattan Ltd in 2004, had been dead since 1961. These suspicions were later confirmed by an Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
investigation.
Evacuation orders
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
announced its dismantling in 2003. On 17 December 2006, the Israeli government, responding to a petition from Peace Now and Palestinians from Burqa and Deir Dibwan, admitted that the outpost stands on private Palestinian land and concluded that there was never any authorization from any official granting its establishment. On 12 February 2007, the Israeli High Court of Justice ordered the government to submit within 60 days an updated report on the steps being taken to remove the outpost. On 1 May 2007, the government informed the court that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, as a Cabinet Minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006, and as Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003....
has instructed the Defence Ministry to prepare an outpost evacuation plan within the next two months, requesting another 60 days extension in the hearings. On 8 July 2007, the government requested a further 90 days extension, claiming that the new Minister of Defence, Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
, needed time to formulate his position on the issue.
On 23 January 2008, the government informed the court that “The Prime Minister and Defense Minister have decided that the outpost Migron, which was constructed on Private Palestinian land, will be evacuated within six months, that is until the beginning of August 2008”. In addition the statement also expresses that the Defense Ministry reserves the right to “request from the Supreme Court an extension on this date, if it deems necessary”. The promise was accepted by the Supreme Court on 6 February 2008. On 13 August 2008, the government declared that the Yesha Council
Yesha Council
The Yesha Council is an umbrella organization of municipal councils of Jewish settlements in the West Bank , known by the Hebrew acronym Yesha.The Chairman of the Yesha Council is Dani Dayan, elected in July 2007...
had agreed to decide within 30 days to which location to transfer the outpost, on November 24 2008 the government signed an agreement with the settlers to remove the outpost to the settlement of Geva Binyamin
Geva Binyamin
Geva Binyamin , also known as Adam , is a communal Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located five kilometers north-west of Jerusalem, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council...
. On November 26, the Supreme Court ordered the government to explain within 45 days why it didn't remove the outpost.
In her summation Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch
Dorit Beinisch
Dorit Beinisch is the president of the Supreme Court of Israel. She was appointed to the position on September 14, 2006, after the retirement of Aharon Barak. She is the first woman to serve as president of the Supreme Court.-Biography:...
criticized the State “Today you are submitting papers full of promises, but without any knowledge of who will actually see this through in 3 years time, your statements have turned into meaningless words. In your statements you have revealed some of your secrets: you explain how the evacuation will be carried out, but you never actually say that it will be carried out”. On 2 February 2009 the government responded with the declaration that they intend to construct a new neighbourhood in an existing settlement for the evacuees of the Migron outpost. On 28 June 2009, the government submitted an affidavit to the courts, according to which the Ministry of Defense authorized the construction of a new neighborhood in the existing settlements of Geva Binyamin. The construction would include 50 housing units for the evacuees of Migron and another 1,450 units for new settlers.
Supreme Court ruling
On 2 August 2011, in response to a petition filed by Peace Now along with Palestinians, Israel's Supreme Court issued a ruling ordering the state to dismantle the outpost by April 2012. Supreme Court president Dorit Beinisch wrote: “There is no doubt that according to the law a settlement cannot be built on land privately owned by Palestinians”. It is the first time the Supreme Court has ordered the state to dismantle an outpost in the West Bank. The ruling was denounced by several Members of KnessetKnesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
, including Tzipi Hotovely
Tzipi Hotovely
Tzipi Hotovely is an Israeli politician, lawyer, and a doctorate student at the Faculty of Law in Tel Aviv University. She practises Orthodox Judaism and is a member of the Knesset as a self-described "religious rightwinger" for the Likud party. When first elected at the age of 30, she was the...
(Likud), who called it “hypocritical”, and Moshe Feiglin
Moshe Feiglin
Moshe Zalman Feiglin is an Israeli politician, head of the Manhigut Yehudit faction of the Likud party in Israel...
(Likud), who accused the Supreme Court of denying Jewish land rights. The Yesha Council
Yesha Council
The Yesha Council is an umbrella organization of municipal councils of Jewish settlements in the West Bank , known by the Hebrew acronym Yesha.The Chairman of the Yesha Council is Dani Dayan, elected in July 2007...
accused the court of applying a double standard and of needlessly inflaming tensions. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
called the ruling “one of the most serious indictments ever filed against Israel's political establishment, legal system and security apparatus”. According to news reports, the ruling, based on the Palestinian claim of ownership of the land, may have to be revisited after a damages suit against the State filed by the Palestinians who claim ownership of the land was withdrawn in November 2011.
Yesh Din petition
In early September 2011, a force of approximately one thousand police officers destroyed three illegal permanent structures in Migron, built on privately owned Palestinian land in May 2011, arresting six youths among the 200 protesting settlers. The three buildings were ordered to be destroyed by the Supreme Court, following a petition issued by the Israeli human rights group Yesh DinYesh Din
Yesh Din is an Israeli human rights group providing legal assistance to citizens of the Palestinian territories. Its name comes from a Hebrew phrase meaning “there is law”...
. In response to it, Jewish settlers set a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
in the West Bank village of Qusra
Qusra
Qusra is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank, located 28 kilometers Southeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics , the town had 674 households with a population of 4,377 inhabitants in 2007.Under the terms of the Oslo Accords of...
, south of Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
, on fire.