Posted on 02/02/2006 12:36:36 PM PST by FeeinTennessee
Israelis Complete Settlement Evacuation NewsMax.com Wires Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006
AMONA, WestBank -- Club-wielding riot troops dragged away thousands of stone-throwing Jewish settlers from rooftops and behind barbed wire Wednesday, evacuating this illegal WestBank outpost in the fiercest clash over settlements since Israel's Gaza pullout.
The demolition of nine houses at Amona, a hilltop enclave in the heart of the WestBank, was seen as a test for acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has said he would act with determination against settlers violating the law.
Olmert is widely expected to withdraw from more areas of the WestBank and dismantle additional Jewish settlements, whether unilaterally or in a deal with the Palestinians, if elected prime minister in March elections.
Medics said they had treated 162 people wounded in the clashes. Police said 58 officers had been hurt. At a field clinic, people milled about with their heads wrapped in bandages and wearing T-shirts splattered with blood.
The confrontation at Amona, one of dozens of illegal outposts established since the 1990s, began Wednesday morning, after Israel's Supreme Court rejected a final appeal by the settlers. The court ordered nine houses in Amona, built on private Palestinian land, to be demolished. The remainder of the outpost, inhabited by about 35 families living in cramped trailer homes, was not yet being cleared.
The Israeli government, meanwhile, said it froze this month's transfer of $45 million in tax rebates and customs payments to the Palestinian Authority while it reviews its options following the Hamas victory in Jan. 25 elections.
Palestinian officials warned that without the money, they won't be able to pay the salaries of 137,000 government employees, a large chunk of the work force. Palestinian Economics Minister Mazen Sinokrot said Israel had "no right" to freeze the tax funds but said negotiations with Israel over the issues were continuing Wednesday.
Also Wednesday, Egyptian officials said their country would send a strong message to Hamas to recognize Israel, disarm and honor past peace deals _ the latest sign of Arab governments pushing the militant group to moderate its stance after its surprise election victory.
"Nobody will talk to them before they stop violence, recognize Israel and accept (peace) agreements, including the road map," the chief of Egypt's intelligence, Omar Suleiman, told journalists in Cairo. The U.S.-backed road map outlines a series of steps to be taken by Israelis and Palestinians in preparation for the creation of a Palestinian state.
In the Gaza Strip, an explosion blew out the walls in the home of Suleiman Abu Mutlak, a former Palestinian security official, but caused no injuries. Abu Mutlak blamed Hamas for the blast, the first attack on a leading figure in the defeated Fatah Party since Hamas' victory. Hamas denied involvement.
The clashes at the Amona settlement outpost were on par with the most violent scenes during last summer's pullout from Gaza and parts of the WestBank, in which 25 settlements were dismantled.
Settlers threw rocks, eggs and paint-filled balloons at helmeted riot police, who approached barricaded rooftops in the shovels of bulldozers. From behind barbed wire ringing the roofs, protesters also used sticks to beat back troops climbing ladders.
Eventually, the helmeted officers got up on the roofs, wrestled with demonstrators and took them down in the same bulldozer shovels. By noon, the first of nine homes in Amona were being demolished by bulldozers.
Dozens of people were injured, and more than 40 rioters were arrested. Israeli media said more than 50 police officers were among the injured, including one who was in serious condition. Two right-wing legislators were hurt on the side of the protesters.
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said troops were determined to clear out the settlers. "This conflict has to end with one bottom line, that we enforce law and order against the rioters," Mofaz told Israel Army Radio.
Amona is one of dozens of outposts set up by settlers in the past decade to prevent the creation of a future Palestinian state. Israel has promised to dismantle two dozen outposts as part of its road map obligations.
However, since the launch of the road map in 2003, the evacuation of outposts has been bogged down in legal maneuvering, and a government report said Israel was not doing enough to meet its commitments. Some government ministries were even funneling state funds to the outposts.
The Palestinians hope to set up a state in areas Israel captured in 1967, which include the WestBank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.
In all, some 5,000 demonstrators, including 1,800 extremists holed up in the nine buildings, were being forcibly removed.
Thick black smoke from burning tires rose into the air. Club-wielding soldiers on horseback charged into the crowd and water cannons tried to push back protesters. A field clinic was set up to treat the wounded, and people milled about with their heads wrapped in bandages and wearing T-shirts splattered with blood.
Troops began moving into the outpost after Israel's Supreme Court cleared the last hurdle to the evacuation Wednesday morning.
Also Wednesday, Israel said it has frozen this month's transfer of $45 million in taxes and customs payments to the Palestinian Authority while it reviews its options following the Hamas victory.
A failure to pay the January salaries could pose the most difficult test yet for Hamas, which has resisted international demands to recognize Israel, disarm and renounce violence. Many Palestinian families depend on a government salary.
The United States and the European Union also have said millions of dollars in aid could be in jeopardy unless Hamas renounces violence and recognizes Israel's right to exist.
© 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Israelis
It was more of a pogrom than an evacuation.
It looked like Cossacks unleashed on civilians.
Out of curiosity, what is the nature of your complaint to the admin?
Its not their land. That part of the settlement was illegal. This was 9 houses. They shouldn't have built there in the first place.
Good grief! Israel proceeding with the "Road Map to H*ll". Even after the terrorists officially take the rein. Unbelievable!
I know, my mistake, I misspelled it by accident
Yes I'm most surprised by this. Giving away more land will lead to Israel's demise.
Spelled it right this time, lol.
It is their land. They purchased it fair and square from the owners. You are supporting an egregious violation of private property rights.
Some people post opinions without knowledge of the facts.
Your statement's a bit ambiguous--which comment was uninformed?
It was originally spelled "Isrealis"
If you hadn't admitted it, no one would have known
Modern-day Kapos.
The Israeli Supreme Court didn't agree.
Not yours, the person's who you corrected.
The court never ruled their property purchases invalid. The legal doctrine they applied was spelled out in a document by Talia Sasson, which said in part:
...the decision to establish a settlement must be made by the authoritative political echelon. Government resolutions have always declared that the establishment of a new settlement, either inside Israel or in the territories, requires a government resolution...
...a 1979 Israeli government resolution states that Israeli settlements shall be established only on State [owned] land ...
...the approval of the political echelon is needed not only for establishing a settlement, but also in some of the steps in the plan approval [such as granting building permits]....
To cut through the legalese, the doctrine states that only the government has the power to determine who lives where, and in particular only government-owned land can be used by Jews in Gaza, Judea and Samaria. In other words, you can go to the property owner and pay him for his land, and he can hand over the title of his own free will, but the government, not the property owner, will decide whether you are allowed to live on your own property.
The most significant legal defect in the document is the fictitious notion of a "settlement". The word "settlement" is used to describe the situation in which several neighboring property owners happen to be Jews. The idea is not only inherently racist, but it implies that we're dealing with a larger corporate body, rather than a group of individual property owners vested with property rights.
In two words, it's absolute land socialism. And you approve of it.
Socialism/Leftism is the enemy of the Jewish people and it's a shame they don't see it.
Olmert and his Kadmia gang are gangsters in my book, too bad most Israelis appear willing to embrace them and further left parties in this perilous time.
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