Mandelblit Gives Final Approval to Deal Saving Evyatar Outpost

Outgoing Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit signed off Wednesday morning on a deal reached last year to save an unauthorized outpost in the Shomron from demolition, instead converting the site into a Hesder yeshivah.

Under the “Evyatar Compromise,” a deal reached between Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked and settlement leaders with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s backing, the more than 50 families residing at the site voluntarily evacuated last summer.

In exchange, the government promised not to demolish the outpost, and instead use it to house IDF soldiers.

Following a mapping operation, which was completed last year to confirm that the outpost was not built on privately owned land, a new yeshivah is slated to be built at Evyatar, with a residential neighborhood to be built at a later date.

Following intensive efforts over the past few days by Shaked, Bennett and Gantz, Mandelblit approved the deal Wednesday, on his final day as attorney general.

With his approval, the next stage in the implementation of the deal is for the government to declare the property at Evyatar state land, at which point Gantz will issue special building permits.

Following the building permits, the public will be given 45 days to file objections to the designation of the area as state land. If no objections are filed, the special permits will automatically go into effect.