State said to approve land to relocate Amona outpost

Israel has reportedly approved the allocation of state land for the relocation of the West Bank outpost of Amona, a settlement at the center of a drawn-out legal battle that was deemed illegal and ordered evacuated by the Supreme Court by late 2016.

The northern West Bank community is scheduled to be demolished in December, after the court ruled in favor of the Palestinian plaintiffs who said Amona was built on privately owned Palestinian land.

According to Army Radio, the 1,400 dunams (395 acres) designated to replace the outpost are located in the West Bank Binyamin region north of Jerusalem. Some 140 new housing units would be built at the site, with 40 of them reserved for families evacuated from Amona.

Amona residents have rejected the relocation order, and vowed not to comply with the court-ordered evacuation, the report said.

Established in 1997, Amona is the largest of about 100 unauthorized outposts — built without permission but generally tolerated by the government — that dot the West Bank. The outpost became a symbol of settler defiance after a partial evacuation a decade ago sparked violent clashes between residents and security forces. The impending evacuation, ordered in 2014, could lead to another showdown.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with other right-wing ministers are seeking to arrive at a compromise with the court and the Palestinian land-owners without forcing the Amona residents out of their homes.

Earlier this month, Netanyahu called on ministers to settle the Amona land dispute via legislation, and said that he was working on a compromise together with Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit. But a proposed bill that was set to face a ministerial vote was abruptly shelved, with Mandelblit deeming “unconstitutional” and maintaining the legislation would likely be shot down by the High Court of Justice.

The Supreme Court has on several occasions ordered Amona dismantled, however the government has repeatedly put off razing the community, despite court-ordered deadlines. In 2006, Israeli troops demolished nine homes after clashes with some 5,000 settlers and their sympathizers, but several dozen trailers have remained.

Amona settlers have recently claimed they had bought some of the land the outpost sits on, but Palestinians have vehemently denied this. The police have said the documents, which supposedly proved the sale, were likely forged.

AP contributed to this report.