Dismantling of structures in unauthorized Mitzpe Yitzhar outpost carried out with no reports of violence; residents vow to construct new buildings; move comes amid "price tag" attacks in protest of outpost demolitions.
By JPOST.COM STAFFMitzpe Yitzhar demolition 311(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Hundreds of IDF soldiers, police and Civil Administration members dismantled two buildings in the Mitzpe Yitzhar outpost in the West Bank in the early hours of Thursday morning.The demolition came two days after a series of "price tag" incidents were perpetrated by right wing extremists in the Samaria area of the West Bank to protest the pending demolition of unauthorized outposts.RELATED:Rioting Jews to be tried in army courtsGov't to address ‘price-tag’ after violence at IDF baseMitzpe Yitzhar, established without authorization, sits on the outskirts of the Yitzhar settlement.
The IDF declared the area a closed military zone and successfully dismantled the structures with no violence reported.Residents of the outpost vowed to construct new structures in the place of those that were dismantled.On Monday night and early Tuesday morning, extremists attacked a military base, two IDF commanders and Palestinian vehicles.Early on Wednesday morning, extremists broke into an out of use mosque in Jerusalem, attempting to set it on fire. The mosque was badly burned but not structurally damaged. The walls were covered with graffiti, including “A good Arab is a dead Arab,” “price tag,” “Muhammad is dead” and “Muhammad is a pig.”The extremists also wrote “Mitzpe Yitzahar,” referring to the outpost where Thursday mornings demolitions occurred.Melanie Lidman and Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report
