Since its establishment, the Gush Etzion settlement has buried its dead at the cemetery of Kfar Etzion. However, due to the growing demand for burial space it was decided to construct a cemetery solely for the residents of Efrat. However, the municipality's search for such a space ended in pain and suffering.
Efrat's municipality along with the Civil Administration were on the lookout for a proper area to build the cemetery. In 1991, the Civil Administration allocated territory in Efrat's Eitan neighborhood, however engineers determined that the area was not fit for burial.
The search for a proper area continued, and in 2003 another territory was found. The Civil Administration examined the soil, issued all the necessary permits, and in 2006 the municipality received final authorization to use the land for the construction of a cemetery.
The municipality had already invested some NIS 300,000 in the project plans, and began work in accordance with the administration's authorization. However, shortly afterwards, the Civil Administration received a complaint by a Palestinian who claimed the land in question belonged to him, and in December 2006 the administration instructed that all construction work in the area be halted immediately.
It took the Civil Administration over a year to investigate the Palestinian's claims and meanwhile the people of Efrat were left without a solution to the ever-growing need for burial space.
A year later the administration ruled that the land indeed belonged to the Palestinian, but only in May 2007 it officially informed Efrat's municipality that it cannot construct the cemetery at the designated area, causing it to lose NIS 300,000 ($79,200) as well as many work days invested in preparing the ground.
"It seems one cannot even die peacefully," Efrat Mayor Oded Revivi told Ynet. "We have been trying to resolve this foot-dragging for a while now, but the proposed solutions are not feasible. We want burial grounds for our deceased, but all our efforts are in vein." Revivi expressed anger over the administration's refusal to refund the money the municipality has invested in the defunct project.
"We should not be made to pay for the administration's mistakes. The money was invested based on the administration's initial decision – that the land is not private, but belongs to the State – we only started planning once we had all the permits," said Revivi. "Therefore we are demanding alternative solutions or a reimbursement for the money that was wasted," he added.
The Civil Administration has yet to respond to the claims.