BICOM

Last night Israeli police removed around 200 Palestinian activists who had established a tent encampment in the controversial area known as E1 in the West Bank over the weekend.

Calling the camp Bab al-Shams (“Gateway to the Sun”), the activists said in a statement that they were placing “facts on the ground,” echoing in action and rhetoric attempts by Israeli settlers to establish rudimentary outposts in the West Bank, which they hope will be recognised as de facto future settlements. The encampment was set up in the controversial E1 area situated just to the north of Jerusalem. Several weeks ago, the Israeli government had announced plans to build homes in the area, which lies between Jerusalem and the large settlement bloc of Ma’ale Adumim, but is also considered important to the territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state.

Palestinian activists petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court against the eviction of the camp with some success. The court ruled that the tents cannot be destroyed and upheld the plaintiff’s right to return to the area if their claim of ownership is upheld. Although the court also issued an injunction against an eviction of the area on similar grounds, the government declared the land a closed military zone, entitling it to remove people from the area.

As a result, Israeli police carried an evacuation of the activists out last night. Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich described it as “a clean action, starting at 2am and finishing at 4am.” However, Palestinian sources claimed that six people were injured in the operation. Prime Minister Netanyahu outlined his decision to evacuate the area to his cabinet yesterday, commenting, “We will not allow anyone to harm the contiguity between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim.”