The Israeli government has asked the High Court for a seven-month extension on the eviction order for the illegal settlement of Amona.
The two-year-old court order gave the government until December 25 to complete the eviction of 40 families, but their future location - possibly newly-built houses on a nearby settlement - has yet to be agreed upon and the Jewish Home party is threatening a coalition crisis if the demolition goes ahead.
One of the main reasons for the postponement of the eviction, which the government concedes is inevitable, is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fears any new building in the settlements could spur President Barack Obama to force through a last-minute initiative on the Israel-Palestine conflict before he leaves office.
The request to the court was based on secret assessments by the Shin Bet security service and the National Security Council that eviction at this point could cause "friction" and have "security and diplomatic aspects on the entire region".
Government plans to build new homes in neighbouring settlements for the residents of Amona, which was built on private Palestinian land, have been condemned by the Obama administration and the settlers themselves have refused to accept the solution.
Instead, with the help of Jewish Home MKs, the Amona settlers are pushing for "arrangement law", which would bypass the High Court ruling. However, Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit has said that the law is unconstitutional and will almost certainly be struck down by the High Court, should it pass.
Stuck between the settlers and the Obama administration, the prime minister is playing for time.
The Israeli government believes that, at the end of the day, Amona's residents will accept a compromise whereby new homes are built on nearby settlements for larger numbers of families.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that last month, the government gave the go-ahead for several large building projects for Palestinians in the West Bank. The plan is part of the Defence Ministry's attempts to alleviate Palestinian housing shortages.
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