The High Court of Justice ordered the state on Tuesday to evacuate the West Bank
outpost of Amona by April 30.
The outpost had been slated for removal by
the end of 2012, but in November the state requested a six-month delay. At the
time, the state said it wanted time to find a peaceful resolution and explore
some issues that had arisen with some of the land parcels.
In a short
note on Tuesday evening, however, the court set an April 30 timetable, without
referencing the rest of the state’s points.
Amona residents, who hope to
remain in their homes near the Ofra settlement, said they were studying the
matter.
Built in 1995 with NIS 2.1 million from the Construction and
Housing Ministry, Amona is one of the oldest of the West Bank
outposts.
It is best known for the clashes that took place there on
February 1, 2006, when the IDF and police demolished nine permanent homes
constructed without proper permits. Some 200 soldiers, police officers, settlers
and activists were injured in those clashes when protesters took a stand inside
and around the structures, refusing to leave until they were forcibly
evicted.
In November 2008, the NGO Yesh Din filed a petition against the
outpost before the High Court of Justice on behalf of 10 Palestinians who claim
land ownership. They similarly filed a civil suit in the Jerusalem Magistrate’s
Court.
Amona residents, in turn, have in the past claimed to have
purchased the land from Palestinians.
MK Uri Ariel (National Union), now
No. 2 on the Bayit Yehudi list, immediately attacked the Likud over the court’s
decision, for failing to control the prosecutor’s office.
He added that
the decision could have been averted if the government had approved the Levy
Report, which called for the legalization of West Bank outposts wherever
possible.