Israeli security forces evacuated and demolished an illegal settler outpost in the occupied West Bank on Monday, with the authorities citing ‘severe incidents of violence’.
A large force was deployed to the Tzour Misgavi outpost in the Gush Etzion area, south of Jerusalem, video footage broadcast by Israeli media showed.
Heavy machinery could be seen preparing to demolish the structures, with one clip showing a bulldozer knocking into the side of a building with people stood on top.
Israeli media said 25 families were evacuated from the site.
In recent weeks, attacks attributed to Israeli settlers, notably those living in outposts, have multiplied in the West Bank, targeting Palestinians, Israeli and foreign anti-settlement activists and sometimes Israeli soldiers.
‘The evacuation is being carried out in accordance with the law and the applicable regulations,’ said COGAT, the Israeli body that runs civil affairs in the Palestinian territories.
‘Criminal activity and severe incidents of violence at the site affected the security of the area,’ it said in a statement.
The Israeli military, COGAT’s civil administration department responsible for demolishing outposts, and the security authorities will continue to ‘uphold law and order’ in the West Bank, ‘with a particular focus on enforcing action against structures built illegally, which undermine the security and public order of all residents in the area’.
While all Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law, outposts are also prohibited under Israeli law.
In a video message to residents, Yaron Rosenthal, the head of the Gush Etzion regional council, said there was ‘no other choice’ but to dismantle the structures.
‘Historically, settlements in Gush Etzion have always been built with the agreement of neighbouring settlements, the regional council, and the settlement authorities,’ he said.
‘In this case, no one coordinated the construction,’ he said, adding that he had ‘asked them to stop’ since January.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and more than 5,00,000 Israelis now live there in settlements.
A minority engage in violence against Palestinians, who complain that Israeli forces usually do not arrest settlers.
Violence in the West Bank has soared since the Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war in October 2023.
At least 1,006 Palestinians, including militants, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the war started, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
During the same period, 43 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks in the West Bank, according to official Israeli figures.
