Palestinian village to state: Stop activists flocking to Amona

The Amona outpost is built on land that belongs to residents from Silwad.

ISRAELI POLICEMEN gather in 2006 to remove the outpost of Amona. (photo credit: REUTERS)
ISRAELI POLICEMEN gather in 2006 to remove the outpost of Amona.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The state must stop activists from heading to the West Bank Amona outpost so that they can resist the High Court of Justice ordered demolition of the 40 homes there on December 25, the Palestinian village of Silwad said.
With the help of the Israeli NGO Yesh Din, it sent a letter with this request to the office of Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit.
In particular it asked the state to order the removal of temporary structures that have been built or are being built to house the activists.
The Amona outpost is built on land that belongs to residents from Silwad.
The letter reminded Mandelblit that he had requested a seven-month delay in the demolition to find a way to ensure a voluntary evacuation rather then a forced one. But now, the state was doing nothing to stop violence from happening and allowing the infrastructure to be put into place, the village said.
“The inaction by the authorities is puzzling here,” the village said and added, “In the moment of truth, as far as we know [the state] has not lifted a finger.”
There are many steps the state could take here, including closing down the area to anyone who is not a resident of Amona, it said.
The village of Silwad asked Mandelblit to take action against national-religious rabbis who are paid by the state and who have called for resistance against the evacuation.