Evacuation of unauthorized West Bank settlement turns violent

Clashes erupted between Israeli security forces and settlers in Amona on Wednesday after authorities began to evacuate the unauthorized West Bank settlement for a planned demolition of its houses, local media reported. A police spokesman said that 10 officers were injured, and media reports said one settler was hurt. Dozens of residents confronted hundreds of […]

Clashes erupted between Israeli security forces and settlers in Amona on Wednesday after authorities began to evacuate the unauthorized West Bank settlement for a planned demolition of its houses, local media reported.

A police spokesman said that 10 officers were injured, and media reports said one settler was hurt.

Dozens of residents confronted hundreds of police officers at the outpost entrance after blocking an access road, setting tyres on fire and pouring oil in the streets in protest, according to media reports.

The police advanced into the settlement in a tight formation, pushing the demonstraters back, according to the reports.

Israel’s top court ruled in 2014 that the hilltop outpost of Amona, located some 20 kilometres north of Jerusalem on land belonging to Palestinians from surrounding West Bank towns, must be vacated by February 8.

The ruling followed a long showdown over the settlement.

An attempt to evacuate Amona in 2006, around a decade after its founding, led to violent clashes and only nine structures being demolished.

In 2008, the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to remove all the homes, on the basis that they were built on land owned by local Palestinians.

After granting multiple delay requests by the Israeli government for more time to relocate people, the Supreme Court in December 2014 finally mandated a two-year deadline, which expires next week.

The Israeli army had issued an eviction notice to Amona residents on Tuesday ahead of the planned demolition, posting an eviction order that gave around 40 families 48 hours to leave.

The Israeli government and the residents had in December agreed to a deal that would see 24 families peacefully move to adjacent land considered absentee property.

But after several Palestinians claimed ownership or ties to the alternate plots, the court suspended the plan until it could sort out the claims, leaving the fate of Amona residents in limbo, Haaretz newspaper reported.

Around 600,000 Israelis currently live in more than 200 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The settlements are considered a major obstacle to a peace settlement with the Palestinians.

Parliament is currently debating controversial legislation that would require Israel, in similar situations, to financially reimburse Palestinian landowners or offer other pieces of land as compensation.

Late Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman approved the construction of more than 3,000 housing units in West Bank settlements, including 2,000 set for immediate construction, Haaretz reported, citing a statement from Lieberman’s office.

Tuesday’s announcement was another indication that Israel has become emboldened by the new US administration, which is widely perceived as being friendlier to settlement activity than the Obama administration.

All settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disagrees. (DPA)