Evyatar eviction still looms; outpost deal not yet finalized
Community’s fate considered a test for Bennett’s gov’t, which lacks internal consensus on the matter
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has cautioned that a deal to prevent the forced eviction of the West Bank outpost of Evyatar had still not been finalized, even though settlers had announced hours earlier on Monday that they had accepted the terms of an agreement.
“This is a sensitive issue. The matter is not yet closed. We are trying to reach a compromise,” Bennett told his faction, adding that it was still too early to celebrate.
Bennett added that Defense Minister Benny Gantz (Blue and White) and Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked (Yamina) were working on an agreement with the settlers.
Hours earlier, Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan and Nahala Movement leaders Daniella Weiss and Zvi Elimelech Sharaf held a celebratory press conference to announce a rare deal between themselves and the government to allow for eventual legalization of the hilltop community.
“We have decided that for the sake of unity of the nation of Israel, we will abide by this agreement,” Dagan told reporters at Evyatar.
He added that the decision was not “a simple one” and had been reached after a long night in which Evyatar residents and activists had debated the matter.
The fate of the Evyatar outpost is considered a test for Bennett’s new government, which lacks internal consensus on the matter.
In addition, approval of the outpost would create tensions with the Biden administration. Its removal, however, has the potential to destabilize the security situation in the West Bank.
Prior to reports of a deal, it had been expected that the IDF would forcibly evict the 53 families and scores of right-wing activists who have moved onto the outpost since its inception in May.
Until a compromise deal is finalized, such an eviction could be activated at any moment.
KAN reported that despite Gantz’s desire for a voluntary evacuation, he is opposed to some of the details of the deal – which is one of the reasons that the agreement has not yet been concluded. According to a settler source, there are also some outstanding legal issues that have to be resolved.
Settlers on Monday reported the terms of a compromise that spoke of the outpost’s eventual legalization in slow stages.
There has been no official confirmation of the terms of this deal under which an army base would immediately be placed at the Evyatar site, and from August a yeshiva would be opened on the small hilltop, located off Route 505 near the Tapuah junction.
Route 505 links the West Bank’s Samaria region with the Jordan Valley and settlers have argued for an Israeli presence there to prevent Palestinians from driving a wedge between the two regions.
The compromise then calls for the IDF to conclude a land survey within six months to ensure that the land on which Evyatar is situated is not privately-owned by
with all professionalism and transparency to clarify the truth and put matters in perspective within the framework of Palestinian law.”
Shtayyeh, who was speaking during the weekly meeting of the PA cabinet in Ramallah, said those who are found to be connected to the death of Banat will be referred to the judicial authorities. His remarks were seen as an attempt to calm the situation after days of protests.
He emphasized the right of Palestinians to freedom of expression, “according to democratic principles, which are part of the culture of our people.”
Shtayyeh also affirmed respect for the independence of the judiciary and its decisions, as well as respect for the freedom of the press and media, urging Palestinians
“to demonstrate a spirit of high responsibility and not to distort the matter in favor of political agendas and paid defamation campaigns.”
In an implicit reference to the anti-PA demonstrations, Shtayyeh called on Palestinians to direct their “national effort against the occupation and its colonial tools in Jerusalem and Palestine.”
Meanwhile, several Palestinian journalists held a sit-in strike in front of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Ramallah to demand international protection after they were assaulted by PA police officers and Fatah activists while covering the protests over Banat’s death.
The journalists said many of them were subjected to physical and verbal abuse and had their cameras smashed and cellphones confiscated by PA security officers and Fatah members.
Palestinian human-rights groups denounced assaults “by uniformed and non-uniformed security personnel” on participants in recent peaceful assemblies.
“Using excessive force, security officers beat with batons, stoned and dragged protesters along the ground,” the groups said in a statement after an emergency meeting in Ramallah.
“They fired tear-gas canisters intensively while civilians were in the city center [of Ramallah],” they said. “Attacks affected journalists, who were beaten and had their equipment seized. Security personnel obstructed the work and confiscated cellphones of field researchers at human -rights institutions.”
The groups said uniformed security personnel did not intervene to protect and stop the “aggression” on the protesters by non-uniformed security officers.
“Human-rights groups underline that the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression must be respected as constitutional rights, ensured by the Palestinian Basic Law and international human rights conventions,” they said. “Abuse of these rights reflects a constitutional crime and a grave breach of the Palestinians’ obligations arising from accession to international conventions.”