The Israeli supreme court has rejected the state's request to postpone dismantling a large, unsanctioned West Bank settler enclave until late 2015.
The decision is a serious blow to settler hopes to keep dozens of rogue outposts standing and could ignite a violent showdown with settlers, who have previously vowed not to abandon their hilltop stronghold, Migron. Settler leader Shimon Riklin, one of the enclave's founders, told Israeli TV the evacuation of Migron "would not pass quietly".
A Palestinian spokesman was sceptical the ruling would be carried out.
The state submitted the delay petition this month, seeking to bypass the high court's earlier order to dismantle the Migron outpost by 31 March because it was built on privately held Palestinian land.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, scrambled to find a solution that would satisfy both settlers and the court. His government asked the court to let Migron's settlers stay put until new homes were built for them on a nearby West Bank hilltop by November 2015.
On Sunday, the court ruled that accepting the state's agreement would be tantamount to flouting the rule of law.
"The obligation to fulfil the [earlier] ruling is not a matter of choice," the court said.
Even so, it extended the evacuation deadline to 1 August.
In a text message to reporters, Netanyahu said the government "respects the court's rulings and operates according to Israel's laws".
Some hardline lawmakers said they would promote legislation to skirt around the ruling although previous attempts at legislation have failed.
Ultranationalists began settling Migron more than a decade ago on a windswept West Bank hilltop about 10 miles north of Jerusalem.
The government said settlers took over the territory unlawfully in 2001. Settlers claim Arab plaintiffs have not proven ownership of the land and note that government officials helped them to set up their outpost, even though it was not officially sanctioned.
"The residents of Migron received today the harsh court ruling, which is based on the false claim of privately held land, and whose objective is the expulsion of peace-loving people," said Migron spokesman Itai Chemo.
He would not say whether Migron residents would resist a forced evacuation. Jewish settlers began setting up more than 100 outposts without government approval in the 1990s, after Israeli governments pledged not to build new settlements. Israel promised the US more than a decade ago to dismantle two dozen outposts built after 2001, including Migron. But violent clashes with settlers over the destruction of isolated structures, combined with political and legal obstacles, discouraged the government from honouring its pledge.
Attorney Michael Sfard, who represented the Palestinian landowners in court, welcomed the ruling and said he had no problem with the court's agreement to extend the evacuation deadline to 1 August.
"I hope that the government and the settlers will not try to pull any tricks and will not try to circumvent this important decision, and that the residents of Migron will evacuate the illegal outpost peacefully, so that the land will be returned after a decade to its legal owners," Sfard said.
While Israel has given its authorisation to more than 120 settlements, outposts like Migron do not have even that level of legitimacy because their construction was not officially sanctioned. Even so the government has hooked them up to utility grids and has sent soldiers to protect them.
The settlement issue has torpedoed efforts to restart peace talks.
Palestinian government spokesman Ghassan Khatib said the Palestinians would reserve judgment on the ruling.
"We will judge the matter by deeds, rather by than decisions, words or intentions," he said. "Migron is only one of too many Israeli outpost-settlements that are supposed to be evacuated. The Israeli behaviour vis-a-vis this, and other outposts, is an example that illustrates Israel's intention to consolidate the occupation, rather than end it," Khatib said.
Israel Radio political analyst Hanan Kristal predicted that evacuating Migron would not topple Netanyahu's ruling coalition but would make it less stable and tougher to govern.
