What Happened to the Settlers Evacuated by Court Order?
115 families were evacuated from four West Bank settlement points from 2012 to 2022, on the State Comptroller’s audit of what followed.
115 families were evacuated from four Israeli settlement points in the Judea and Samaria Area between 2012 and 2022 following decisions of the High Court of Justice, on the State Comptroller of Israel’s audit published in February 2023. The four points are Migron, Amona, Ofra and Netiv HaAvot. The audit, which closes in June 2022, is the state auditing its own handling of the evacuations and of the housing and compensation that followed, and it records that four years after the Amona evacuation most of those families were still in temporary housing.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 115 families | Evacuated from four settlement points following High Court decisions | 2012 to 2022 |
| 50 families | Evacuated from Migron to a temporary site at Givat HaYekev | September 2012 |
| 28 families | In permanent housing at Givat HaYekev, with 3 in temporary housing | Audit close, June 2022 |
| 42 families | Evacuated from Amona, of whom 38 moved to temporary houses at Amichai | 2017 to April 2018 |
| 27 families | Still in temporary housing at Amichai | Audit close, June 2022 |
| 15 families | Evacuated from Netiv HaAvot to the plot known as Plot 91, near Elazar | June 2018 |
| About NIS 2.5 million | Estimated erosion in the compensation set for the Netiv HaAvot evacuees, a gap of about 12% | May 2022 |
Source: State Comptroller of Israel, Evacuation of Israeli Settlement Points in the Judea and Samaria Area and Treatment of the Evacuees, February 2023. Figures marked as estimates are the audit’s own estimates.
The Comptroller counts 115 families evacuated from four settlement points
The State Comptroller of Israel counts 115 families evacuated from Migron, Amona, Ofra and Netiv HaAvot across 2012 to 2022, in an interdisciplinary audit of the state’s own conduct whose examination closes in June 2022. The evacuations followed judgments of the Supreme Court sitting as the High Court of Justice. The audit counts families and not individuals throughout.
- HCJ 8887/06 al-Nabut v. Minister of Defense: the Supreme Court issued a final order on 2 August 2011 requiring the State to evacuate the outpost of Migron, setting a deadline of 31 March 2012. The State did not dispute that the land is registered under private Palestinian ownership.
- HCJ 9949/08 Hamad v. Minister of Defense: the Supreme Court held on 25 December 2014 that the whole of Amona be removed within two years, on the ground that it stood on privately owned Palestinian land without authorisation. On 14 November 2016 the Court rejected a government request to delay implementation further.
50 Migron families moved to a temporary site at Givat HaYekev
The State Comptroller records that 50 families were evacuated from Migron in September 2012 to a temporary site at Givat HaYekev, under government decision 4569 of 29 April 2012. At the close of the audit in June 2022, the Comptroller’s own examination of the state’s handling found 28 of those families in permanent housing at Givat HaYekev and 3 in temporary housing, with all other evacuated families having left the locality.
27 of 42 Amona families were still in temporary housing
The State Comptroller reports that 38 of the 42 families evacuated from Amona moved from Midreshet Ofra to temporary houses at the new locality of Amichai, established under government decisions 2583 of March 2017 and 3015 of September 2017. Across April 2018 to June 2022, the audit found 11 families with completed permanent homes, 3 building and 27 still in temporary housing. The audit also records NIS 5 million of unplanned expenditure charged against the budget for public buildings at Amichai, after a delay in arranging temporary housing left Amona evacuees in makeshift housing for about a year and two months.
Netiv HaAvot compensation eroded about NIS 2.5 million, about 12%
The State Comptroller records that 15 families were evacuated from Netiv HaAvot in June 2018 to the plot known as Plot 91, near Elazar, under government decision 3598, the structures having been demolished. Measured against the government assessor’s valuation of August 2018, the audit estimates the erosion in the value of the compensation set for those families at about NIS 2.5 million as at May 2022, a gap of about 12%. That estimate is the auditor’s own, made in an audit of the state’s treatment of the evacuees, and not an adjudicated or disbursed sum.
| Money figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| About NIS 2.5 million | Estimated erosion in compensation value for the Netiv HaAvot evacuees, about 12% | August 2018 valuation to May 2022 |
| NIS 5 million | Unplanned expenditure charged against the Amichai public-buildings budget | Following the delay in temporary housing |
| NIS 6 million | Allocated by government decision for special and exceptional cases among the Amona, Ofra and Netiv HaAvot evacuees, against which 26 claims were submitted | As recorded in the audit |
Source: State Comptroller of Israel, February 2023.
The audit counts families, and publishes no count of individuals
The State Comptroller reports in families at every point: 115 across the four settlement points, 50 at Migron, 42 at Amona and 15 at Netiv HaAvot. It publishes no count of individual evacuees and no breakdown by age, so no population figure can be taken from this record. The audit’s examination closes in June 2022, and the state’s own audit carries nothing beyond that date, so the position of the families recorded as being in temporary housing at that point is not followed further here.
Which figures may not be added together?
The per-locality counts do not sum to the published total: 50 plus 42 plus 15 is 107 against the 115 the State Comptroller counts across four points. The Ofra figure is not carried in this record and the balance may not be derived by subtraction. The 42 is the number of families evacuated from Amona and the 38 is the number who moved to Amichai; they are different quantities. Every count is of families, and multiplying by an assumed household size produces a figure the audit does not publish. The money figures marked as estimates are the auditor’s own estimates, and the NIS 6 million is an allocation against which claims were submitted rather than an amount paid.
Questions readers ask
Who ordered the evacuations?
The Supreme Court of Israel, sitting as the High Court of Justice, issued the orders. It ruled on Migron on 2 August 2011 in HCJ 8887/06 and on Amona on 25 December 2014 in HCJ 9949/08.
How many families were evacuated in total?
The State Comptroller of Israel counts 115 families across four settlement points, over 2012 to 2022.
Which four places were evacuated?
The State Comptroller names Migron, Amona, Ofra and Netiv HaAvot.
Where did the Migron families go?
The State Comptroller records that 50 families moved to a temporary site at Givat HaYekev in September 2012, under government decision 4569 of 29 April 2012.
Were the Migron families rehoused permanently?
The State Comptroller found 28 families in permanent housing at Givat HaYekev and 3 in temporary housing at the audit’s close in June 2022, with all other evacuated families having left the locality.
How long did Amona families spend in temporary housing?
The State Comptroller recorded 27 of the Amona families still in temporary housing at Amichai in June 2022, more than five years after the locality was established under government decisions of March and September 2017.
What did the delay at Amichai cost?
The State Comptroller reports NIS 5 million of unplanned expenditure charged against the budget for public buildings at Amichai, after Amona evacuees spent about a year and two months in makeshift housing.
What happened to the Netiv HaAvot families?
The State Comptroller records that 15 families were evacuated in June 2018 to the plot known as Plot 91, near Elazar, under government decision 3598, and that the structures were demolished.
Was compensation paid in full?
The State Comptroller estimates the erosion in the value of the compensation set for the Netiv HaAvot evacuees at about NIS 2.5 million as at May 2022, about 12% against the government assessor’s August 2018 valuation.
How many claims were made under the special-cases allocation?
The State Comptroller records 26 claims submitted against the NIS 6 million allocated by government decision for special and exceptional cases among the Amona, Ofra and Netiv HaAvot evacuees.
Does the audit say how many people were evacuated?
No. The State Comptroller counts families throughout and publishes no count of individuals and no age breakdown.
Does Israel publish demolition figures for the Israeli sector in the area?
The State Comptroller published one such series in 2016, relaying the Civil Administration Supervision Unit’s own count of its own enforcement activity: 6,605 illegal-construction cases identified in the Israeli sector across 1997 to 2013, of which the unit demolished 1,807, which the report writes as 27%.
What period does this record cover?
The State Comptroller’s audit covers the evacuations from 2012 and closes in June 2022, so nothing after that date is carried here.
Sources
- Israeli Supreme Court, 2011. HCJ 8887/06 Yusuf Musa Abd al-Razeq al-Nabut and others v. Minister of Defense. Judgment of 2 August 2011. Official English translation, supremedecisions.court.gov.il. Court judgment.
- Israeli Supreme Court, 2014. HCJ 9949/08 Maryam Hassan Abd al-Kareem Hamad and others v. Minister of Defense. Judgment of 25 December 2014, with the refusal of further delay of 14 November 2016. Court judgment.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2016. Judea and Samaria Area: Activity of the Supervision and Enforcement Unit and Aspects of Land Registration. Annual Report 66b. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official audit report.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2023. Evacuation of Israeli Settlement Points in the Judea and Samaria Area and Treatment of the Evacuees. Interdisciplinary audit, February 2023, pp. 649 onward. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official audit report.
