IDF troops said gathering near Amona as evacuation deadline looms

Large numbers of Israel Defense Forces soldiers gathered Saturday night near the illegal West Bank outpost of Amona, which the High Court has ruled must be emptied by December 25 and which is expected to be evacuated in the next few days.

Security forces have been training in recent weeks for the evacuation of the outpost, which is built on privately owned Palestinian land, and whose residents have vowed to resist removal. The settlers this week rejected a compromise proposed by the state to relocate them to adjacent land on the same hill.

Channel 2 television said Saturday that police are preparing for widespread arrests during the evacuation. According to the television report, the Israel Prison Service has emptied entire wings in four jails ready to absorb any detainees from the evacuation.

While a time has not been finalized for the evacuation, it will not take place during nighttime hours or without advance notice, due to the presence of women and children at the site, Channel 2 said.

The Srugim website reported that infantry soldiers from the Givati Brigade were bused into the nearby outpost of Giv’at Asaf as Shabbat ended.

The website quoted a resident of Amona, Rabbi Giora Brenner, as saying that dozens of troops arrived in two buses and six or seven military vehicles. Brenner said the incident was unprecedented in the 15 years he has lived in the outpost.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday posted a video on his Facebook page in which addressed the residents of Amona, calling on them not to fight the imminent evacuation. The settlers have threatened non-violent resistance, but some have warned that they will not able to control all who come to help them resist. Hundreds of supporters have made their way to the outpost in the past few days.

“Dear residents of Amona, my heart is with you,” Netanyahu said in the video. “You are going through a tough time, you and your families and the rest of the people of Israel.”

“The government is committed to settlement in Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu said, referring to the West Bank by its biblical name, “We are committed to it more than any government in the history of the country,” he added.

The prime minister said he and his ministers have made “every effort” to find a solution that would allow to leave the settlers in their current homes. “We have devoted days and nights to this, with dozens of discussions, we raised creative solutions, outside the box solutions,” but none were accepted.

He called on Amona residents to act responsibly, and “not to harm IDF soldiers and security forces under any circumstances. They are our sons, the apple of our eyes, they are dear to all of us and keep all of us safe. There is no room for violence.”

The prime minister then turned to parents from Amona, saying their protest “is understood, but this is not the place for the presence of boys and girls, or young teens.”