image

Israel evicts structures in Jewish West Bank outpost

Israeli Security Forces evicted 15 residential structures belonging to Jewish settlers in the West Bank outpost of Nativ Ha’avot, after Israel’s Supreme Court – in its ruling – said ‘the structures were built illegally on privately-owned Arab lands.’ Under the Supreme Court’s order, the 15 structures that were erected as part of Netiv Ha’avot, an outpost built without the Israeli government’s authorization, are to be demolished within the next few days. In a last attempt to thwart the realization of the court’s ruling, Israeli right-wing activists gathered in several of the homes that are slated for demolition, condemning the Israeli troops for fulfilling their orders. While several clashes were reported during the day, the local residents were removed from the structures with minimal resistance, as Israeli police officers conducted themselves in a professional manner, remaining tentative to their emotional state. “It’s very tough for us. People are being torn from their houses and families are sad. People don’t know what’s going to be but we believe that even if it’s a sad day for us and for all the Hityashvut in Eretz Yisrael (Hebrew: Settlement activity in the Land of Israel), we believe that just good things will come out of it. So we are very optimistic about the future,” Elazar Herz Van Spiegel, Resident of Nativ Ha’avot Outpost said.

 

The Israeli government has announced a plan to pay compensation to the families whose homes are to be demolished and to rehouse them on adjacent lands not privately owned by Palestinians. Furthermore, Netanyahu’s cabinet decided in February of this year that the remainder of the Netiv Ha’avot outpost, where some 20 houses stand on land not effected by the court ruling, is to be granted legal status and designated a neighborhood of an Israeli settlement that is recognized by the government.