AMONA, West Bank — Israel’s prime minister on Thursday vowed to establish the first new West Bank settlement in over two decades “as soon as possible,” promising to make up for the court-ordered demolition of an illegal settler outpost. ADVERTISING
AMONA, West Bank — Israel’s prime minister on Thursday vowed to establish the first new West Bank settlement in over two decades “as soon as possible,” promising to make up for the court-ordered demolition of an illegal settler outpost.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement was his latest step to expand Israeli settlement construction in the wake of President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Trump has signaled a far softer line toward the settlements, which are considered illegal by most of the international community.
Netanyahu spoke just as Israeli security forces were completing the evacuation of Amona, where they broke into a synagogue earlier on Thursday to remove dozens of Israeli protesters who had barricaded themselves inside.
Netanyahu’s pro-settler government had unsuccessfully tried to block the evacuation of Amona. But Israel’s Supreme Court rejected all appeals after determining the outpost was built illegally two decades ago on private Palestinian land.
Speaking at a ceremony in the West Bank settlement of Ariel, Netanyahu expressed “great pain” over the removal of Amona.
“We all understand the depth of the pain and therefore we will establish a new settlement on state land,” he said. “Already yesterday I formed a team that will determine the settlement location and get everything ready. And we will act so that it happens as soon as possible.”
According to the Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now, Israel has not officially broken ground on a new settlement since 1992.
Since that time, however, it has greatly expanded its existing settlements and allowed dozens of unauthorized outposts to sprout up, in some cases subsequently legalizing them.
