Civil Administration working on plan which will see Beit El land allocated for Ulpana evacuees using military decree, in spite of PM´s directive

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have given the order to freeze preparations for the demolition of the Ulpana neighborhood in Beit El, but the Civil Administration is not waiting around for the prime minister to pull a last minute rabbit out of his hat.

Ynet has learned that the administration is working on a plan through which Beit El land would be allocated for caravillas which would be constructed for the use of the evictees.

Over the past few weeks the defense establishment has held deliberations over possible temporary housing solutions that could be offered to the Ulpana residents after the eviction.

At first, they raised the possibility of temporarily housing the evacuees in hotels, yet new plans reveal the intention of settling them in caravillas until a permanent solution is arranged.

The Civil Administration´s settlement sub committee is set to meet on Thursday in order to approve the construction of 30 temporary housing units for evacuees.

The committee is expected to approve the construction of the units through order number 997 which states that construction plans in the West Bank receive approval when it is on land captured for military purposes. After the committee approves the plan it will be sent on to receive the approval of Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

The Civil Administration said in response that they do not divulge the contents of internal deliberations.

The Ulpana residents have stated that they will thwart any attempt to erect the temporary units. "The residents of the Ulpana neighborhood mention the prime minister´s statement on how the eviction is a decree the public will not be able to withstand and so he (the prime minister) will not be able to withstand it," they said.

´Settler leadership should pay´

The residents added that "the residents and their supporters throughout the country will bodily prevent both the demolition and the arrival of the heavy machinery intended for the construction of the temporary buildings from entering Beit El."

Meanwhile, Peace Now has welcomed the decision: "The Ulpana evacuation is necessary according to a High Court ruling," Peace Now General Director Yariv Oppenheimer said. "The settlers can only complain to their leaders who stood behind the illegal construction and tried to force (them) to be accepted as a fact.

"The government must also demand that the evacuation costs and the construction of the new structures be paid by the settlers´ leadership and save the heavy and un-proportional costs from falling on the Israeli taxpayer."

At the beginning of the month the High Court denied the State´s petition to review the case and postpone the evacuation, imposing a July 1 deadline for its razing.

Prime Minister Netanyahu managed to convince right wing MKs to remove deliberations on the Arrangements Law from the agenda; they agreed to freeze promotion of the bill in order to give the government time to settle the issue.

Netanyahu then instructed Defense Minister Ehud Barak to halt all demolition preparations. Yet the defense establishment is apparently ignoring this directive and has been continuing to prepare for the July 1 deadline.

Beit El residents have expressed their anger over the fact that plans for evacuation are continuing, ignoring the prime minister´s directives.

The IDF Spokesman said in response: "The IDF is holding ongoing discussions with the settlement leaders…mainly over the issues of defense and security aspects. Naturally these meetings are private and we will not address what was said (in the meetings)." (Copyright 2012 © Yedioth Internet 05/31/12)