About 120 Arabs populated the E1 outpost set up on erev Shabbos Parshas Vaeirah 5773, naming it Bab el-Shams. Included among the founding members of the outpost were 25 PA (Palestinian Authority) members of the press.

650 Israeli security forces arrived during the predawn hours of Sunday 2 Shevat 5773 to remove the illegal structures. There was some “light resistance” according to reports. Outpost residents understood that they would return and they had made their point, even earning the support of the Israeli High Court of Justice. The latter issued an injunction preventing the immediate removal of the outpost.

Wishing to prevent a snowball effect, Israeli authorities declared the area a closed military zone, blocking access roads to the outpost to prevent supporters from making their way to the area. IDF Central District Commander Major-General Nitzan Alon prohibited members of the media into the area to avoid widespread coverage of the eviction of the residents. Yassam Commander Kobi Cohen was given charge of the operation.

The residents of the outpost accuse police of using unjustifiable force during the eviction, an allegation that was denied by Israeli police officials. Senior Fatah official Mustafa Barghouti, among the outpost residents, was among those taken into custody. Fatah spokesman Ahmed Assaf said “the eviction was not the end of our battle to prove Palestinian rights to all of the land of Palestine. We will continue to fight the occupation and establishing villages. We will do everything possible despite the Israeli oppression and terror against us.”

The outpost consisted of 30 tents, undoubtedly setting the stage for the next front line in the battle between Israel and the PA. The PA vows they will be back and continue defying Israeli plans to expand Israeli construction in the E1 area towards creating land contiguity between Yerushalayim and Maale Adumim.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)