Court mandated demolition of outpost built on private Palestinian land by mid-November; state fears physical confrontation.
By YONAH JEREMY BOBIsraeli Supreme Court 311(photo credit: REUTERS/FILE)
The state filed a brief on Sunday night asking the High Court of Justice for an additional six-month delay to demolish the Amona outpost, located on the outskirts of the Ofra settlement in the Binyamin region.In May, the court gave the state six months to schedule and complete the demolition of the outpost.Yesh Din, who filed the petition to compel the outpost's demolition, said the state's conduct was "scandalous" and showed it would throw out any answer to try to "hold onto stolen land" from the Palestinians in the area.The state has long consented that the outpost is built on private Palestinian land, and the demolition was due to be completed in the next week.The state cited several reasons for the necessary delay, but a primary one was to avoid a physical confrontation.Built around 1995, Amona is one of the oldest outposts in the West Bank.It is best known, however, for the clashes that took place there on February 1, 2006, when the IDF and the police demolished nine permanent homes that were built there without proper permits.Some 200 soldiers, police, settlers and activists were injured when protesters took a stand inside the homes, and refused to leave until they were forcibly evacuated.Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this story.
