Residents of a West Bank outpost slated for demolition on Thursday launched a fundraising campaign aimed at purchasing the land on which their community was built.
Israel's High Court of Justice in March reaffirmed its ruling that Migron, located north of Jerusalem, was illegally constructed on privately-owned Palestinian land, and ordered its evacuation by Aug. 1.
The demolition, however, was postponed after a group of residents petitioned the High Court earlier last month, claiming to have bought the land from the Palestinian owner, who died last year.
Peace Now, an Israeli group that monitors the construction of West Bank settlements and first petitioned the court to evict Migron in 2006, previously dismissed similar claims, accusing the residents of presenting forged purchase documents.
In a renewed effort to prevent the razing of the 300-family outpost, the residents are now seeking to raise an estimated 3 million U.S. dollars for four land plots rightfully owned by a number of Palestinians families living in the nearby villages of Burqa and Deir Dibwan, the Ha'aretz daily reported Thursday.
The move came after the government recently presented the residents with such an option, though it remains unclear if the court, which is expected to hold another hearing on the issue at the end of this month, would backtrack on its ruling even if the money is collected.
Some U.S. donors have already put up part of the funds. In parallel, the residents are soliciting tax-free donations via charitable foundations, according to Ha'aretz.
"There is a realistic possibility of leaving Migron unchanged, and we trust that the general public will be happy to support us," the newspaper quoted one resident as saying.
The international community largely considers settlements in the West Bank, an area that Israel captured in the 1967 war and later annexed, illegal under international law and a major stumbling block to achieving Middle East peace.
The Palestinians slate the area to become part of their future state, and have conditioned a return to negotiations with Israel on a complete halt to settlement construction.
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