July 30, 2012

(JTA) — Israel has 30 days to arrrange a living situation for 27 Palestinian families whose homes are set to be demolished, the Israeli High Court ruled.

The village of Zanuta, located in the southern Hebron Hills in the West Bank, is scheduled for demolition by the Israel Defense Force because it sits on an archaeological site. But the villagers’ legal representative argued before the court on Monday that the state must regularize construction in the village because it has existed since before 1967, according to Haaretz.

The court ruled that if the state does not regularize construction in the village, it must provide an alternative solution for the residents of Zanuta.

“The role of a military governor is to find a solution,” Judge Hanan Meltzer said, according to Haaretz.

In the past, Zanuta residents had lived in caves in the area, and when the caves began to crumble, they set up temporary living structures that were built without a permit.

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