BICOM

Israeli security forces yesterday demolished an illegal West Bank outpost, the third this week. IDF troops and Civil Administration inspectors early in the morning evacuated and demolished the Mitzpe Avichai outpost near Kiryat Arba.

The forces evacuated the outpost at around 3 am and then razed ten structures, nine living quarters and a synagogue, according to reports. It is the third time that the outpost has been razed. Earlier this week, Israeli security forces demolished the Givat Arye and Gal Yossef outposts, both near Shilo. All of the evacuations, according to reports, occurred without clashes.

In related news, the Israeli inner-cabinet is to meet within weeks to discuss its policy on regulating illegal construction in five West Bank outposts, the state told the High Court of Justice yesterday.

According to Senior Deputy State Attorney Uri Keydar, cabinet secretary Zvi Hauser is organising a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Ehud Barak, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and other officials to “consolidate its [the government’s] response” to the issue of illegal buildings on state land in five West Bank outposts.

Keydar’s comments were made in response to a 2006 Peace Now petition, which asked the court to order the state to evacuate and remove illegal buildings in the five outposts.

The Prime Minister’s Office would not confirm any details of the planned meeting. An official did, however, tell the Jerusalem Post that there “will be a meeting with the ministerial committee that deals with this issue, to discuss how to move forward.”