Migron evacuation passes peacefully
JERUSALEM – Israelis were bracing themselves for ugly clashes and mass protests, but the Migron outpost was evacuated smoothly and peacefully on Sunday.
“It was conducted with sensitivity and the families were not problematic,” Israel Police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld told The AJN.
Migron was the largest and oldest outpost – meaning a settlement that was built in violation of Israel’s own building laws. The activist group Peace Now petitioned the High Court to compel the government to evacuate it six years ago, and ever since residents and the settler movement have been fighting to save the outpost.
The battle to stop evacuation was ill-fated, due to the fact that Migron was not only built without permits, but it also sat upon land that an official Israeli report declared to be privately owned by Palestinians.
At 3am on Sunday morning, police delivered evacuation orders to residents and erected roadblocks nearby to stop protestors from arriving. Then, together with other officials, they accompanied residents off the site, which was cleared and declared a closed military zone by the end of the day. Residents were
relocated to nearby accommodation.
The only raised tempers were between 15 non-residents who had travelled to Migron over the weekend to protest, eight of whom were arrested for disturbing the peace.
“This proves that evacuations can happen, that the fear of thousands of settlers fighting proved false,” Michael Sfard, the attorney who filed the petition that led to the evacuation, told The AJN.
But settler leaders were defiant, portraying the evacuation as a mere temporary setback. Roni Arzi, spokesperson for settler umbrella organisation Yesha Council, claimed that settlers are going about purchasing land in Migron, and plan to return there and re-establish it as a legitimate settlement. “We believe we will return – I don’t know whether tomorrow, next month, next year or next decade,” he told The AJN.
While the West Bank was calm during the Migron evacuation, it was followed by what appears to have been an act of protest vandalism based on the “price tag” tactic. According to this tactic, when their interests are harmed, extreme settlers unleash an attack to make their anger evident – until now on Palestinian or Israeli military targets, but in this case on a Christian target in Israel.
Graffiti was daubed on a Trappist monastery in Latrun, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Tuesday. There were references to Migron and a slogan “Jesus was a monkey”. A wooden door was set alight, but the fire did not cause significant damage.
Migron evacuees condemned the attack, as did Israeli politicians. “Those responsible for this reprehensible act need to be punished severely,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Freedom of religion and freedom of worship are among the most basic foundations of the State of Israel.”
NATHAN JEFFAY
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