Israel evicts Amona settlement outpost, approves 3,000 new settlement units

As the Israeli Supreme Court on Tuesday has ordered the eviction of Amona illegal settlement outpost near Ramallah, Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) have proceeded to approve the construction of 3,000 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank.

The decision to build 3,000 new settlement units came as an agreement between Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Minister of Army, Avigdor Lieberman, last night, as a way to satisfy the settlers and at the same time, take advantage of the new U.S.-Israel relations, since the new administration supports settlement expansion.

This wide expansion campaign has flourished after Donald Trump became officially president. During the 10 days of his presidency, Israel has approved the total of 6,060 settlement units in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The Amona outpost, made up of nine mobile houses, was decided to be evicted since it was built on a privately owned Palestinian land, on which Palestinians have petitioned for a long time and finally won the case.

Even though the Amona settlement outpost was illegal and the decision was taken by an Israeli court, Israeli media still portrays the eviction as a “forced eviction.”
Israeli media said that the settlers have been protesting the eviction while Israeli Forces were besieging the outpost with razor wires.

Source : PNN