In a rare event under the most right-wing government in Israel's history, Israeli security forces evacuated an "illegal" outpost east of Ramallah in the West Bank on Monday morning. According to the Hebrew website "Walla," the security forces cleared the illegal outpost near the settlement of Kochav Hashachar east of Ramallah, and the Civil Administration and police evacuated several buildings that were constructed illegally in the outpost known as "Havdim."
Security officials stated that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich personally approved the operation to demolish the buildings. In protest of the evacuation, a number of far-right settlers burned tires and placed nails on the road in an attempt to obstruct Israeli forces' access to the outpost, while one protester climbed onto a bulldozer belonging to the Israeli forces. One participant was arrested on charges of attempting to sabotage the evacuation process.
The report indicated that Israeli forces destroyed 5 out of approximately 20 buildings erected in the mentioned outpost, which were built on private Palestinian land or state land without permission. This comes as the organization "Peace Now" warned of a record increase in settlements in the West Bank over the last six months.
