Israel forces Palestinians from settlement site
Israeli police early Sunday evicted Palestinian protesters from a hilltop camp they set up in a West Bank area slated for Jewish settlement, police and witnesses said.
“Israel forces have entered the camp,” one of the protest organisers, Abir Copty confirmed to AFP.
About 200 Palestinian activists set up the camp, named Bab al-Shams (Gate of the Sun in Arabic), on Friday in the controversial E1 area between Israeli annexed east Jerusalem and the settlement of Maaleh Adumim.
The protesters had defied Israeli orders to leave until police backed
It's nice to build a village here without Israeli permission. We are here to stay
by bulldozers moved in at around 2.30 am (0030 GMT).
“Hundreds of Israeli police came from all directions, surrounding all those who were in the tents and arresting them one by one,” Palestinian legislator Mustafa Barghouti told AFP.
But police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP that no arrests had been made.
“They were told they were trespassing and carefully escorted from the site one by one,” he said. “Nobody was hurt on either side.” About 500 police took part in the operation, he added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office had said on Saturday night that he wanted the protesters removed at once and that state lawyers were asking the Israeli supreme court to overturn an injuction postponing the eviction issued Friday.