Maoz Ester outpost evacuated
Security forces remove seven tin huts, several youths from tiny West Bank settlement outpost; no violent incidents recorded
Seven tin huts and several youths residing in the area were removed from the Maoz Ester outpost. No violent incidents were recorded. A building was recently demolished in the area, leading to violent acts on the part of local residents.
Binyamin Regional Council head Avi Roeh arrived at the outpost following the evacuation and said that "the place will be built and even expanded."
Defense Minister Ehud Barak met Wednesday with settler leaders. At the end of the meeting he clarified that illegal outposts must be evacuated – in agreement or forcibly.
Knesset Member Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) said in response to the evacuation, "(Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu should fire Barak. Netanyahu may be acting like a prime minister, but the fact on the ground is that Barak is dictating the policies. The Israeli voter did not give his vote to Netanyahu to have Jews uprooted from their homes."
The movement that set up the outpost said, "The expulsion that is being carried out now is the first phase in Barak's policy to establish a Palestinians sate with Jerusalem as its capital, that will later turn into a Hamas state."
The Binyamin Settlers Committee said in a statement that "the defense minister and his leftist friends' obsession with destroying Jewish settlements is pathetic."
The statement added that "the ideological emptiness of theLabor Party has turned into enthusiastic support of the destruction of Jewish identity and the expulsion of Jews from their forefathers' lands. Ehud Barak and the administration officials don't care about the law. We’ve all seen their cowardice when it comes to enforcing the law against the large-scale illegal construction among Arabs, as opposed to their obsession with destroying Jews' homes".
Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer said in response, "The evacuation of the tiny outpost is a PR stunt and is no substitute for the evacuation of the significant outposts in the territories. The evacuation of a few tents is no way to seriously deal with illegal construction in the territories."
