Israel’s outgoing attorney general Avichai Mandelblit has okayed the reconstruction of the evacuated settlement of Evyatar in Beita town south of Nablus in the northern West Bank Israeli media sources revealed on Wednesday.
The Hebrew sources reported that Avichai Mandelblit has approved the move on his last day in his position.
Evyatar settlement was evacuated seven months ago amid growing Jewish calls for its reconstruction.
The move came as part of a deal between the Israeli government and West Bank settlers that would retroactively authorize the outpost establishment without official approval.
Under the agreement reached last year the settlers left the outpost “peacefully” and the area became a closed military zone with the houses and roads erected remaining in place. As part of the deal a survey was carried out which according to Israeli media reports determined that part of the land was allegedly not owned by Palestinians paving the way for the establishment of a religious school and for some settler families to return.
The move pushes forward the deal which still needs a final green light from the army minister Benny Gantz who signed on to the plan last year.
The residents of Beita and the surrounding villages have been holding weekly Friday rallies for months to protest the construction of the new Jewish-only settlement known as Evyatar at the expense of Palestinian land in Jabal Sobeih area.
Palestinians affirm that the outpost was built on their land and fear it will grow and merge with larger settlements nearby.
Nearly 666000 settlers live in more than 145 settlements that are authorized by Israel as well as 140 outposts Israel views as unlawful across the West Bank territories.
