Israel removes settlers from homes built on private Palestinian land

Dozens of settlers and their supporters protest from rooftops as Israeli military and police hand evacuation orders to settler leaders.

Young Israeli supporters of settlements sit on the rooftop of a house which is due to be emptied and demolished in the settlement of Ofra in the occupied West Bank, during an eviction operation by Israeli forces on February 28, 2017. Nine homes in the Ofra settlement were found to have been built on private Palestinian land and the Israeli supreme court ordered them razed by March 5, rejecting last minute petitions to delay the demolition or have the buildings sealed instead. / AFP / MENAHEM KAHANAShow less

OFRA, WEST BANK // Israeli police began removing settlers and hundreds of supporters on Tuesday from nine houses built illegally on privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.

Dozens of settlers and their supporters protested from the rooftops in the settlement of Ofra as military and police forces handed the evacuation orders to settler leaders and asked them to cooperate peacefully and avoid confrontation.

Brigadier-general Yoram Sofer pleaded with the settlers “to act according to moral standards, to assist us and not to use violence.”

One of the residents defiantly tore up the order while others, mainly youths, were carried away by troops tasked with clearing the area. Others walked out, escorted by officers. No major disturbances were reported

Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered the demolition of nine buildings in the settlement of more than 3,000 people after finding that those homes were constructed on land which was proved to be owned by Palestinians.

Such judicial rulings upholding Palestinian property rights have incurred the wrath of right-wingers in Israel who are promoting plans to expand construction in settlements built on occupied territory which would constitute part of a Palestinian state.

In one home in Ofra, police and protesters, mainly youths, linked arms and swayed in prayer before the youngsters, offering passive resistance, were taken outside.

“We feel that this is not right at all, what’s being done here: the destruction of these homes in the centre of a Jewish town, in the centre of a populated town that was established legally 42 years ago,” said Eliana Passentin, a spokeswoman for the local settler regional council.

There was little initial sign of the kind of violence that accompanied a larger-scale evacuation on February 2 of Amona, a West Bank settlement-outpost built without Israeli government permission in 1995.

On that occasion, more than 100 young people protested against the removal of Amona’s 300 settlers and around 60 officers and at least four demonstrators were hurt in scuffles there that included bleach being thrown at police.

Most countries consider all Israeli settlements on land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war to be illegal. Israel disagrees, citing biblical, historical and political links to the land as well as security interests.

Palestinians want to establish a state in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, which Israeli forces left in 2005, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and they contend that the construction of settlements could deny them a viable and contiguous country.

Some 550,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and East Jerusalem, areas that are home to more than 2.6 million Palestinians.

Three weeks ago, Israel’s parliament retroactively legalised about 4,000 settler homes built on privately owned Palestinian land. The new law did not apply to Amona or the nine dwellings in Ofra because of standing court rulings.

Since US President Donald Trump took office in January, Israel has announced plans to build 6,000 more settler homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, but at a joint news conference with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 15, Mr Trump startled the Israeli leader by saying he would like to see him “hold back on settlements for a bit”. Mr Netanyahu later said he hoped to “reach an understanding” with President Trump on settlements.

* Reuters