Far-right activists attack police in attempt to return to illegal outpost
Border Police say dozens rioted and slashed tires of jeep near flashpoint wildcat West Bank community where forces razed two homes
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Dozens of far-right activists clashed with security forces near a flashpoint outpost in the northern West Bank on Thursday night, slashing the tires of a Border Police jeep, according to a law enforcement spokesman.
Border Police had been stationed at the Kumi Ori outpost of the Yitzhar settlement to prevent the activists known as hilltop youth from returning and finishing the rebuilding of a pair of homes that were demolished early Wednesday morning. In a game of cat and mouse, the ultranationalist teens returned to the scene hours after the demolition and began rebuilding the homes, leading Border Police to follow them back to Kumi Ori in order to halt the illegal activity and scatter them.
“The forces are determined to enforce the military order that declares the outpost a closed military area,” police said in a statement.
“Determined and uncompromising enforcement will be taken against whoever tries to harm soldiers,” the statement added.
Hundreds of security personnel took part in the demolitions on Wednesday morning, which also included the razing of four other homes in nearby Yitzhar neighborhood outposts. Four of the buildings were located in Area C, and two were in Kumi Ori in Area B, according to a spokesman for the Civil Administration — the Defense Ministry body that authorizes West Bank construction.
According to the Oslo Accords, Area B is defined as West Bank territory under Palestinian civil jurisdiction and Israeli security control. Area C is under both the security and civil control of the Israeli military, and all settlements are located in this territory, which makes up roughly 60 percent of the West Bank.
While the Oslo Accords bar Israelis from building in Area B, the residents of Kumi Ori, where only a handful of families live along with several dozen far-right activists, have long flouted those laws.
One of the two homes demolished in Kumi Ori belonged to the family of Neria Zarog, a “violent extremist” who has inspired attacks against Palestinians and Israeli forces alike, according to a security official who spoke to The Times of Israel last year.
Zarog rebuilt his home almost immediately after it was razed for its lack of permits in January, a Civil Administration spokesman said.
Zarog was arrested on Wednesday for “refusing to evacuate” the scene as security forces were to raze his home, a Border Police spokesman said.
The January demolition of Zarog’s home took place a week after the High Court of Justice rejected a petition in which he argued that Israel has no right to tear down a structure in Area B because the territory is under the civil control of the Palestinian Authority.
The court ruled that while Israel does not have authority to grant building permits in that area, it can demolish illegal homes built by Israelis there.
Late last month, Israelis hurled three Molotov cocktails at a Border Police vehicle just outside Yitzhar.
No officers were injured in the incident, but damage was caused to the jeep, the Border Police said in a statement, labeling the ordeal a “terror attack.”
The troops were leaving Yitzhar after having operated in the area to enforce a closed military zone order around Kumi Ori.
The order was put in place last October following a string of violent attacks on Palestinians and security forces perpetrated by a number of young settlers from the area. While a tense relative calm has largely held since then, the situation began spiraling in mid-March when settlers clashed with Border Police who arrived in Kumi Ori as locals were attempting to build a synagogue there.
Five Israelis were arrested on charges of assaulting officers and violating a closed military zone order, which allows only the seven families who are official residents of the outpost to be there.
The Times of Israel Community.