Facing evacuation, West Bank settlers remain defiant

Facing a court-ordered evacuation, residents of the Jewish settlement outpost of Amona in the West Bank are digging in for a fight to the finish. Vowing fierce but nonviolent resistance, they have built shelters, bathrooms and a large kitchen to host thousands of supporters they hope will join them in their struggle to stay put.
With the Dec. 25 evacuation date approaching, Israel’s pro-settler government is scrambling to find a solution, fearing a repeat of the violent showdown between extremist settlers and Israeli security forces that took place on this same wind-swept hilltop a decade ago.
Residents are playing down any expectations of violence, saying the arrival of supporters is meant as a show of strength. But they are hunkering down in hopes that a last-minute deal can still be struck that would thwart an evacuation.
“Amona must remain here on the hill,” said Eli Greenberg, a community spokesman who has lived in Amona since 2004. “Destroying Amona is bad for everyone. It’s unjust, it’s immoral, it’s good for nothing and it can be easily prevented.”
Amona is the largest of about 100 unauthorized outposts — erected without permission but generally tolerated by the Israeli government — that dot the West Bank. The outpost became a symbol of settler defiance after the partial evacuation a decade ago sparked violent clashes between residents and allied activists on one side and security forces on the other.
In 2014, Israel’s Supreme Court ordered Amona to be evacuated, after it determined the outpost was built on private Palestinian land, giving the government until this Dec. 25 to tear down the outpost’s 50 trailer homes.

Source: Arab News