In the next four months, 15 buildings are slated for destruction in Tal Binyamin (Tapuach West), in Samaria. So far, the residents don’t know where they will be going or if they will be able to build new homes in the areas allotted to them in a High Court decision.
Twenty years ago, young families moved up to the “Tal Binyamin” hill (named after Talya and Binyamin Kahane HY”D, who were murdered in a shooting attack in 2001), just west of Kfar Tapuach, with the assistance of the Settlement Division, in accordance with decisions made by the State. One of those families were Rivka and Moshe Herzlich. Moshe is the brother of Talya Kahane HY”D, after whom the outpost is named.
There are currently 10 families there, and many children. Three years ago, Palestinians from a nearby village petitioned the courts to claim ownership of the land.The State’s decision was that some of the homes deviated just tens of meters outside of State land. As a result, the family homes in Tal Binyamin were declared to be outside of State lands. In the meantime, the Court ruled that the 15 buildings on the hill, including 9 homes and 6 buildings used for agricultural purposes, sheds, etc. must be evacuated, destroyed and rebuilt – moved to within State lands. Some of the mobile structures will be rebuilt only 50-100 meters away (from where they are now). The evacuation is to be completed within 4 months (until 22 June).
In the State’s response, it was said that the State is moving to legalize the area by officiallydeclaring it State land. The State is moving to prepare an area of about 1000 dunam near the settlement, to be allocated to the local council to build a neighborhood. At the end of the process, the long-awaited legalization is to take place, and hundreds more residential units will be able to be built on the site.
The problem is that the road that links the neighborhood and the settlement, passes through land under survey. The State has until 22 April to present an affidavit to the Court that the survey procedures have ended and that the land can be declared.
The home of the Herzlichs, who have 8 children, is slated for destruction because it cannot be replicated. The family has to prepare and build an alternative home only 50 meters away from its present location. In practice, however, the proposal has yet to be realized due to bureaucratic problems. This is despite the fact that the Ministry of Defense is making every effort to complete procedures as soon as possible.
The Director of the Samarian Regional Council this week informed Herzlich that according to a new decision, there are changes that have been made to the agricultural areas, so that not all the structures involved in agriculture can be moved to the new area.
The Herzlich family is presently conducting a mass fundraising campaign via the crowdfunding platform JGive ,to replicate their home in its new location. According to them, within a week they will start construction of their new home, which will be done simply and quickly in order to meet the deadline.