Israel plans 3,000 homes in land grab

Hardliners placated as evictions begin at illegal outpost

AMONA, WEST BANK // Israeli police began evicting dozens of hardline Jewish settlers from an outpost yesterday, hours after unveiling plans for 3,000 new settlement homes in other parts of the West Bank.

Thousands of police moved in to carry out evictions at the Amona outpost after the Israeli high court ruled that the homes had been built on private Palestinian land.

The announcement of the new homes late on Tuesday was the fourth since US president Donald Trump took office less than two weeks ago, after he pledged strong support for Israel.

The land- grab decision was yesterday decried by the EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

“It marks a very worrying trend, posing a direct challenge to the prospects of a viable two-state solution, which is increasingly difficult and risks becoming impossible,” Ms Mogherini said.

The EU “deeply regrets that Israel is proceeding with this, despite the continuous serious international concern and objections, which have been con- stantly raised at all levels”, she said.

Settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are considered illegal under international law and major stumbling blocks to peace because they are built on land the Palestinians want for their state.

“A negotiated two-state solution is the only way to fulfil the legitimate aspirations of both parties and to achieve enduring peace,” Ms Mogherini said.

Far-right politician Moti Yogev, whose Jewish Home party is part of Israel’s governing coalition, was at yesterday’s evictions.

Mr Yogev called the demolition of the outpost a bad decision, but said the new settler homes announced by the defence ministry the night before were some compensation.

“Yes, Amona will be destroyed but against Amona we are going to build 3,000 new homes,” he said.

The evictions marked the end of months of attempts by government hardliners to legalise the outpost near Ramallah.

Small clashes broke out after hundreds of hardline supporters slipped past roadblocks on foot and lit tyres around the outpost. Some threw stones at the media as residents started packing their belongings.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said there were about 3,000 officers in and around Amona to move the 42 families, and another 600 people who were not from the outpost but had arrived for the eviction.

Protesters said they would not leave willingly but they would not resort to violence against the police.

But police said that officers were “attacked by anarchists with material that made their eyes burn”.

Barack Obama’s administration harshly criticised Israel’s settlement expansion, which it regarded as the biggest obstacle to Middle East peace. But since Mr Trump took office with top aides sympathetic to settlement building, the Israeli government has announced new projects that will add more than 6,000 homes for settlers.

The projects include 566 homes in three neighbourhoods of annexed East Jerusalem, and the rest in the occupied West Bank. Mr Trump’s White House has not condemned any of the expansions announced since he took office.

The Israeli defence ministry said 2,000 of the new homes announced on Tuesday night were ready to be put on the market, while the rest are in various stages of planning.