Israel Does Nothing as Illegal Outpost Grows
Some 20 homes that have been built in the Mitzpeh Cramim outpost during the past year could spark a similar coalition crisis to the one recently created by the Ulpana neighborhood in the settlement of Beit El, according to sources in the defense establishment.
The prefabricated and permanent homes, in the outpost northeast of Ramallah, were all built on land that the state officially recognizes as being privately owned by Palestinians.
Sources in the defense establishment warn that the situation could spark the next crisis in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, similar to the one that erupted over the Ulpana neighborhood and the outposts of Givat Assaf and Migron, also built on private land. Meanwhile, settlers have moved into the buildings at Mitzpeh Cramim.
Construction in the outpost has continued unhindered, despite the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration’s orders to stop the the work. The orders were issued in 2011.
Defense sources told Haaretz that the construction in Mitzpeh Cramim was illegal but admitted that no real steps had been taken to stop it.
For more, go to Haaretz.com
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