Inspector photographs illegal outpost construction

Inspector photographs il

By YAAKOV KATZ AND TOVAH LAZAROFF
A Civil Administration inspector arrived Monday morning at the Givat Assaf outpost and asked to enter to photograph illegal construction, defense officials said. The residents refused to open the gate, and Border Police forces arrived at the scene. After a short dialogue, the settlers acquiesced, and the inspector photographed the illegal construction. The outpost, which is located off of Route 60, near the Beit El settlement, was first established in May 2001 on the spot where Assaf Hershkowitz, 30, of Ofra was killed that same month when his vehicle was fired on. It is home to some 14 families. Givat Assaf is one of 22 outposts built after March 2001 that Israel had promised the United States it would remove. Also on Monday, the Civil Administration issued demolition orders for two recently built structures in the Migron outpost, located down the road from Givat Assaf. It is also on the list of 22 outposts slated for demolition, but the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip worked out a deal with the government, under which it would be relocated to the nearby Adam settlement. The 50 families who live at the outpost have refused the deal so far.