In defiance of US President Barack Obama's call on Israel to stop settlement activity, defiant settlers built a new outpost on Friday morning between Migron and Kochav Ya'acov.
Settlers dedicate a Torah scroll in the West Bank outpost of Maoz Esther, which has been dismantled and rebuilt several times in recent weeks.
Photo: AP
At the outpost, which they named Oz Yehonatan, the settlers built a wooden structure they mockingly called the "Obama Hut," saying it was a sign of appreciation for the US president for his actions that had led to a dramatic rise in the number of outposts.
On Thursday, settlers and right-wing activists once again rebuilt the illegal Maoz Esther outpost that was dismantled on Wednesday by security forces.
Among the structures erected was a synagogue in which activists placed a Torah scroll dedicated in the name of Yohonadav Hirschfield, who was killed in last year's terror attack at Jerusalem's Mercaz Harav Yeshiva.
One of the activists said of Obama, "He's an Arab Muslim and a gentile, he is fighting against the Jewish people and has declared that he will continue to do so. We already stated our intention to continue to build, no matter who is fighting us - Egypt, Germany or the US."
Among the 200 activists that gathered at the Maoz Esther site was Hebron-Kiryat Arba Chief Rabbi Dov Lior, who explained why peace was impossible in the Middle East.
"It's all illusions. With these savages, there was never peace, there is no peace and there will not be peace," he said.
"It's not because we don't want it, but because they are enemies of peace. We just have to hope that our entire country is cleared of terrorists, their supporters, their backers and their camels. They should all be sent to Saudi Arabia."
National Union MK Michael Ben-Ari voiced his support for the settlers' actions saying the West Bank's Jewish communities were an established fact.
"Obama, in his audacity, dreams that 350,000 Jews can be removed from Judea and Samaria, but they are a fact that cannot be changed," he was quoted by Army Radio as saying.
