Settlers and dozens of pro-settlement activists who flocked to the Amona outpost to protest against the evacuation burned tyres and piled makeshift barricades at its entrance. But there was no immediate violence as columns of unarmed police walked towards prefabricated homes where some 330 settlers live. Several families with small children walked out of the outpost minutes before the operation began. But others said they would stay put and peacefully resist eviction.

"We won't leave out homes on our own. Pull us out, and we'll go," Avihai Bavaron, one of the outpost's leaders, told reporters. "It is a black day for Zionism." Hours before the police operation, Israel announced plans for 3,000 more settlement homes in the West Bank, the third such declaration in eleven days since President Donald Trump took office. Trump has signalled he could be more accommodating toward such projects than his predecessor Barack Obama.

An announcement a week ago by Israel that it would build some 2,500 more homes in the West Bank, territory captured in a 1967 Middle East war, drew rebukes from the Palestinians and from the EU. It followed approval of more than 560 new homes in East Jerusalem days before.

Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for an independent state, with its capital in East Jerusalem. Israeli troops and settlers withdrew from Gaza in 2005. The legal battle over Amona has dragged on for eight years. Under the latest Supreme Court ruling, it had to be evacuated by Feb. 8. In 2006 Amona saw a violent partial eviction, with nine shacks torn down by authorities. Police were confronted by thousands of settlers and more than 200 people were injured.

Most countries consider settlements illegal and an obstacle to peace, as they fragment territory Palestinians seek for a viable state. Israel disagrees, citing historical and political links to the land - which the Palestinians also assert - as well as security interests. The Israeli parliament is due to vote next week on a law that would retroactively legalise dozens of outposts built on privately owned Palestinian land without government authorisation.

Backed by the Israeli government but described as unconstitutional by the attorney-general, the bill is expected to pass. Legal experts said, however, it would not survive any challenge in the Supreme Court. Outposts usually start with pre-fabricated huts on remote hilltops, lived in by a handful of settlers. Over time, they acquire Israeli military protection and hook up to water and electricity networks, slowly becoming more formalised.</s>Israel's military has ordered residents of a West Bank settlement to evacuate the area within 48 hours, days before a deadline for its demolition that threatens to destabilise the government.

The Ynet news website and other outlets reported the army posted a notice at the entrance to the Amona outpost on Tuesday.

Ynet ran a picture of the order that said "After 48 hours nobody will enter or reside in the area." The military had no immediate comment.

Israel's Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that Amona was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished.

It later set February 8 as the final date for it to be destroyed. The court is reportedly set to rule on a state relocation plan later in the day.

Amona is the largest of about 100 unauthorised outposts erected in the West Bank without permission but generally tolerated by the Israeli government.

The outpost, built in the 1990s, stretches out over a rugged, grassy hilltop and looks out across the valley onto Palestinian villages.

In 2006, Israeli police demolished nine homes at Amona, setting off clashes pitting settlers and their supporters against police and soldiers.

Several dozen trailers have remained and the outpost has become a symbol for the settlement movement.

Its fate has threatened to rupture Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's narrow coalition, which is dominated by ultra-nationalists who support settlements.

Mr Netanyahu has struggled to find a balance between appeasing his settler constituents and respecting Israel's Supreme Court, which has drawn the ire of hard-liners by ruling against the settlers.</s>Jewish settlers in a two-decades-old West Bank outpost — considered illegal even under Israeli law — were told to evacuate. Some swear to fight the order while Palestinians hope to get access to land they once owned.</s>Hours after Israel approved 3,000 new settlement homes in the West Bank, Israeli security forces moved to evacuate settlers from an illegal outpost there, sparking scuffles.

There's been a clear uptick in the rate of settlement approval since Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president less than two weeks ago — and Trump is expected to be supportive of settlement expansion. Last week, Israel announced that it planned to build 2,500 more homes for Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Before that, it approved permits for 560 units in East Jerusalem.

Settlements are seen as an obstacle to peace, an impediment to any future two-state deal, and are widely condemned by Palestinians and by the international community.

There are many types of settlements — some are essentially large towns approved by the Israeli government, while others such as Amona, where the evacuation operation began midday Wednesday, are outposts built without government approval.

Israel's Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that Amona, located near the Palestinian city of Ramallah, "was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished," The Associated Press writes. "It set Feb. 8 as the final date for it to be destroyed."

"On Tuesday, the Israeli army ordered residents to leave the outpost within 48 hours," Haaretz reports. Today, police climbed the hill to initiate the operation, setting off a tense standoff and skirmishes with settlers and their supporters.

Joanna Kakissis, reporting for NPR, was at Amona and this is what she saw:



"Many of the protesters traveled from other towns to prevent the evacuation of some forty families who have built their homes on this hilltop. "They burned tires, slicked the roads with oil and helped families barricade themselves inside their homes. "Ayelet Vidal, a 35-year-old book editor and mother of four, sipped tea near her bookshelf. She said she'd stay until security forces physically carried her out."



Sixteen police officers and two civilians were injured in the melee, Haaretz says, adding that "evacuation efforts were expected to last through the night."

Yesh Din, an Israeli organization that fought against the illegal outpost in court, hailed the start of the operation in a post on Facebook. "We hope security forces and residents of the outpost will keep to a peaceful and non-violent evacuation of the outpost," it says. The group posted pictures of Palestinians who own the land, and said: "After being prevented from accessing their land for twenty years, they are waiting to return."

The evacuation of Amona has been repeatedly delayed. Israeli authorities likely wanted to avoid the sort of violent clashes that occurred there in 2006 when troops attempted to dismantle eight empty homes. As NPR reported at the time, more than 300 Israeli soldiers and settlers were injured in the ensuing violence.

Israel's parliament is also expected to receive legislation next week which would "retroactively legalise dozens of outposts," according to Reuters. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports that proposed law, the wire service reports.

Israeli far-right hardliners are finding reasons to celebrate these days: "We have lost the battle over Amona but we are winning the campaign for the Land of Israel," tweeted Naftali Bennett, leader of the far-right Jewish Home Party, according to Reuters.

"We are in a new period in which life in Judea and Samaria are back on track," Defense Minster Avigdor Lieberman said in a statement, according to Haaretz. Judea and Samaria is the biblical name for the area that makes up the occupied West Bank.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has started "urgent discussions" over the escalating pace of settlement expansion plans, the Palestinian news agency Ma'an reports.</s>AMONA, West Bank: Israeli police moved into an outpost in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday to remove settlers who Israel's Supreme Court ruled have been living illegally on privately owned Palestinian land.

Settlers and dozens of pro-settlement activists who flocked to the Amona outpost to protest against the evacuation burned tyres and piled makeshift barricades at its entrance.

But there was no immediate violence as columns of unarmed police walked towards prefabricated homes where some 330 settlers live.

Several families with small children walked out of the outpost minutes before the operation began. But others said they would stay put and peacefully resist eviction.

"We won't leave out homes on our own. Pull us out, and we'll go," Avihai Bavaron, one of the outpost's leaders, told reporters. "It is a black day for Zionism."

Hours before the police operation, Israel announced plans for 3,000 more settlement homes in the West Bank, the third such declaration in eleven days since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. Trump has signalled he could be more accommodating toward such projects than his predecessor Barack Obama.

An announcement a week ago by Israel that it would build some 2,500 more homes in the West Bank, territory captured in a 1967 Middle East war, drew rebukes from the Palestinians and from the EU. It followed approval of more than 560 new homes in East Jerusalem days before.

Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for an independent state, with its capital in East Jerusalem. Israeli troops and settlers withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

The legal battle over Amona has dragged on for eight years. Under the latest Supreme Court ruling, it had to be evacuated by Feb. 8.

In 2006 Amona saw a violent partial eviction, with nine shacks torn down by authorities. Police were confronted by thousands of settlers and more than 200 people were injured.

Most countries consider settlements illegal and an obstacle to peace, as they fragment territory Palestinians seek for a viable state.

Israel disagrees, citing historical and political links to the land - which the Palestinians also assert - as well as security interests.

The Israeli parliament is due to vote next week on a law that would retroactively legalise dozens of outposts built on privately owned Palestinian land without government authorisation.

Backed by the Israeli government but described as unconstitutional by the attorney-general, the bill is expected to pass. Legal experts said, however, it would not survive any challenge in the Supreme Court.

Outposts usually start with pre-fabricated huts on remote hilltops, lived in by a handful of settlers. Over time, they acquire Israeli military protection and hook up to water and electricity networks, slowly becoming more formalised.</s>Hours after Israel approved 3,000 new settlement homes in the West Bank, Israeli security forces moved to evacuate settlers from an illegal outpost there, sparking scuffles.

There's been a clear uptick in the rate of settlement approval since Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president less than two weeks ago — and Trump is expected to be supportive of settlement expansion. Last week, Israel announced that it planned to build 2,500 more homes for Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Before that, it approved permits for 560 units in East Jerusalem.

Settlements are seen as an obstacle to peace, an impediment to any future two-state deal, and are widely condemned by Palestinians and by the international community.

There are many types of settlements — some are essentially large towns approved by the Israeli government, while others such as Amona, where the evacuation operation began midday Wednesday, are outposts built without government approval.

Israel's Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that Amona, located near the Palestinian city of Ramallah, "was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished," The Associated Press writes. "It set Feb. 8 as the final date for it to be destroyed."

"On Tuesday, the Israeli army ordered residents to leave the outpost within 48 hours," Haaretz reports. Today, police climbed the hill to initiate the operation, setting off a tense standoff and skirmishes with settlers and their supporters.

Joanna Kakissis, reporting for NPR, was at Amona and this is what she saw:



"Many of the protesters traveled from other towns to prevent the evacuation of some forty families who have built their homes on this hilltop. "They burned tires, slicked the roads with oil and helped families barricade themselves inside their homes. "Ayelet Vidal, a 35-year-old book editor and mother of four, sipped tea near her bookshelf. She said she'd stay until security forces physically carried her out."



Sixteen police officers and two civilians were injured in the melee, Haaretz says, adding that "evacuation efforts were expected to last through the night."

Yesh Din, an Israeli organization that fought against the illegal outpost in court, hailed the start of the operation in a post on Facebook. "We hope security forces and residents of the outpost will keep to a peaceful and non-violent evacuation of the outpost," it says. The group posted pictures of Palestinians who own the land, and said: "After being prevented from accessing their land for twenty years, they are waiting to return."

The evacuation of Amona has been repeatedly delayed. Israeli authorities likely wanted to avoid the sort of violent clashes that occurred there in 2006 when troops attempted to dismantle eight empty homes. As NPR reported at the time, more than 300 Israeli soldiers and settlers were injured in the ensuing violence.

Israel's parliament is also expected to receive legislation next week which would "retroactively legalise dozens of outposts," according to Reuters. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports that proposed law, the wire service reports.

Israeli far-right hardliners are finding reasons to celebrate these days: "We have lost the battle over Amona but we are winning the campaign for the Land of Israel," tweeted Naftali Bennett, leader of the far-right Jewish Home Party, according to Reuters.

"We are in a new period in which life in Judea and Samaria are back on track," Defense Minster Avigdor Lieberman said in a statement, according to Haaretz. Judea and Samaria is the biblical name for the area that makes up the occupied West Bank.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has started "urgent discussions" over the escalating pace of settlement expansion plans, the Palestinian news agency Ma'an reports.</s>Hours after Israel approved 3,000 new settlement homes in the West Bank, Israeli security forces moved to evacuate settlers from an illegal outpost there, sparking scuffles.

There's been a clear uptick in the rate of settlement approval since Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president less than two weeks ago — and Trump is expected to be supportive of settlement expansion. Last week, Israel announced that it planned to build 2,500 more homes for Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Before that, it approved permits for 560 units in East Jerusalem.

Settlements are seen as an obstacle to peace, an impediment to any future two-state deal, and are widely condemned by Palestinians and by the international community.

There are many types of settlements — some are essentially large towns approved by the Israeli government, while others such as Amona, where the evacuation operation began midday Wednesday, are outposts built without government approval.

Israel's Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that Amona, located near the Palestinian city of Ramallah, "was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished," The Associated Press writes. "It set Feb. 8 as the final date for it to be destroyed."

"On Tuesday, the Israeli army ordered residents to leave the outpost within 48 hours," Haaretz reports. Today, police climbed the hill to initiate the operation, setting off a tense standoff and skirmishes with settlers and their supporters.

Joanna Kakissis, reporting for NPR, was at Amona and this is what she saw:



"Many of the protesters traveled from other towns to prevent the evacuation of some forty families who have built their homes on this hilltop. "They burned tires, slicked the roads with oil and helped families barricade themselves inside their homes. "Ayelet Vidal, a 35-year-old book editor and mother of four, sipped tea near her bookshelf. She said she'd stay until security forces physically carried her out."



Sixteen police officers and two civilians were injured in the melee, Haaretz says, adding that "evacuation efforts were expected to last through the night."

Yesh Din, an Israeli organization that fought against the illegal outpost in court, hailed the start of the operation in a post on Facebook. "We hope security forces and residents of the outpost will keep to a peaceful and non-violent evacuation of the outpost," it says. The group posted pictures of Palestinians who own the land, and said: "After being prevented from accessing their land for twenty years, they are waiting to return."

The evacuation of Amona has been repeatedly delayed. Israeli authorities likely wanted to avoid the sort of violent clashes that occurred there in 2006 when troops attempted to dismantle eight empty homes. As NPR reported at the time, more than 300 Israeli soldiers and settlers were injured in the ensuing violence.

Israel's parliament is also expected to receive legislation next week which would "retroactively legalise dozens of outposts," according to Reuters. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports that proposed law, the wire service reports.

Israeli far-right hardliners are finding reasons to celebrate these days: "We have lost the battle over Amona but we are winning the campaign for the Land of Israel," tweeted Naftali Bennett, leader of the far-right Jewish Home Party, according to Reuters.

"We are in a new period in which life in Judea and Samaria are back on track," Defense Minster Avigdor Lieberman said in a statement, according to Haaretz. Judea and Samaria is the biblical name for the area that makes up the occupied West Bank.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has started "urgent discussions" over the escalating pace of settlement expansion plans, the Palestinian news agency Ma'an reports.</s>Hours after Israel approved 3,000 new settlement homes in the West Bank, Israeli security forces moved to evacuate settlers from an illegal outpost there, sparking scuffles.

There's been a clear uptick in the rate of settlement approval since Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president less than two weeks ago — and Trump is expected to be supportive of settlement expansion. Last week, Israel announced that it planned to build 2,500 more homes for Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Before that, it approved permits for 560 units in East Jerusalem.

Settlements are seen as an obstacle to peace, an impediment to any future two-state deal, and are widely condemned by Palestinians and by the international community.

There are many types of settlements — some are essentially large towns approved by the Israeli government, while others such as Amona, where the evacuation operation began midday Wednesday, are outposts built without government approval.

Israel's Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that Amona, located near the Palestinian city of Ramallah, "was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished," The Associated Press writes. "It set Feb. 8 as the final date for it to be destroyed."

"On Tuesday, the Israeli army ordered residents to leave the outpost within 48 hours," Haaretz reports. Today, police climbed the hill to initiate the operation, setting off a tense standoff and skirmishes with settlers and their supporters.

Joanna Kakissis, reporting for NPR, was at Amona and this is what she saw:



"Many of the protesters traveled from other towns to prevent the evacuation of some forty families who have built their homes on this hilltop. "They burned tires, slicked the roads with oil and helped families barricade themselves inside their homes. "Ayelet Vidal, a 35-year-old book editor and mother of four, sipped tea near her bookshelf. She said she'd stay until security forces physically carried her out."



Sixteen police officers and two civilians were injured in the melee, Haaretz says, adding that "evacuation efforts were expected to last through the night."

Yesh Din, an Israeli organization that fought against the illegal outpost in court, hailed the start of the operation in a post on Facebook. "We hope security forces and residents of the outpost will keep to a peaceful and non-violent evacuation of the outpost," it says. The group posted pictures of Palestinians who own the land, and said: "After being prevented from accessing their land for twenty years, they are waiting to return."

The evacuation of Amona has been repeatedly delayed. Israeli authorities likely wanted to avoid the sort of violent clashes that occurred there in 2006 when troops attempted to dismantle eight empty homes. As NPR reported at the time, more than 300 Israeli soldiers and settlers were injured in the ensuing violence.

Israel's parliament is also expected to receive legislation next week which would "retroactively legalise dozens of outposts," according to Reuters. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports that proposed law, the wire service reports.

Israeli far-right hardliners are finding reasons to celebrate these days: "We have lost the battle over Amona but we are winning the campaign for the Land of Israel," tweeted Naftali Bennett, leader of the far-right Jewish Home Party, according to Reuters.

"We are in a new period in which life in Judea and Samaria are back on track," Defense Minster Avigdor Lieberman said in a statement, according to Haaretz. Judea and Samaria is the biblical name for the area that makes up the occupied West Bank.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has started "urgent discussions" over the escalating pace of settlement expansion plans, the Palestinian news agency Ma'an reports.</s>Hours after Israel approved 3,000 new settlement homes in the West Bank, Israeli security forces moved to evacuate settlers from an illegal outpost there, sparking scuffles.

There's been a clear uptick in the rate of settlement approval since Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president less than two weeks ago — and Trump is expected to be supportive of settlement expansion. Last week, Israel announced that it planned to build 2,500 more homes for Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Before that, it approved permits for 560 units in East Jerusalem.

Settlements are seen as an obstacle to peace, an impediment to any future two-state deal, and are widely condemned by Palestinians and by the international community.

There are many types of settlements — some are essentially large towns approved by the Israeli government, while others such as Amona, where the evacuation operation began midday Wednesday, are outposts built without government approval.

Israel's Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that Amona, located near the Palestinian city of Ramallah, "was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished," The Associated Press writes. "It set Feb. 8 as the final date for it to be destroyed."

"On Tuesday, the Israeli army ordered residents to leave the outpost within 48 hours," Haaretz reports. Today, police climbed the hill to initiate the operation, setting off a tense standoff and skirmishes with settlers and their supporters.

Joanna Kakissis, reporting for NPR, was at Amona and this is what she saw:



"Many of the protesters traveled from other towns to prevent the evacuation of some forty families who have built their homes on this hilltop. "They burned tires, slicked the roads with oil and helped families barricade themselves inside their homes. "Ayelet Vidal, a 35-year-old book editor and mother of four, sipped tea near her bookshelf. She said she'd stay until security forces physically carried her out."



Sixteen police officers and two civilians were injured in the melee, Haaretz says, adding that "evacuation efforts were expected to last through the night."

Yesh Din, an Israeli organization that fought against the illegal outpost in court, hailed the start of the operation in a post on Facebook. "We hope security forces and residents of the outpost will keep to a peaceful and non-violent evacuation of the outpost," it says. The group posted pictures of Palestinians who own the land, and said: "After being prevented from accessing their land for twenty years, they are waiting to return."

The evacuation of Amona has been repeatedly delayed. Israeli authorities likely wanted to avoid the sort of violent clashes that occurred there in 2006 when troops attempted to dismantle eight empty homes. As NPR reported at the time, more than 300 Israeli soldiers and settlers were injured in the ensuing violence.

Israel's parliament is also expected to receive legislation next week which would "retroactively legalise dozens of outposts," according to Reuters. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports that proposed law, the wire service reports.

Israeli far-right hardliners are finding reasons to celebrate these days: "We have lost the battle over Amona but we are winning the campaign for the Land of Israel," tweeted Naftali Bennett, leader of the far-right Jewish Home Party, according to Reuters.

"We are in a new period in which life in Judea and Samaria are back on track," Defense Minster Avigdor Lieberman said in a statement, according to Haaretz. Judea and Samaria is the biblical name for the area that makes up the occupied West Bank.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has started "urgent discussions" over the escalating pace of settlement expansion plans, the Palestinian news agency Ma'an reports.</s>"We are in a new period in which life in Judea and Samaria is back on track," Mr Lieberman said in a statement using the Biblical term for the West Bank.

Mr Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Mr Trump at the White House on February 15, and the two men are expected to seek understandings on Israeli construction plans for the West Bank.

The announcement followed a military order, dated Monday, for residents of Amona to evacuate the area within 48 hours. Israeli media said residents could be removed as early as Wednesday morning.

Israel's supreme court ruled in 2014 that Amona was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished. It has set February 8 as the final date for it to be destroyed.

Amona is the largest of about 100 unauthorised outposts erected in the West Bank without permission but generally tolerated by the Israeli government.

The outpost, built in the 1990s, stretches out over a rugged, grassy hilltop and looks out across the valley onto Palestinian villages.

The Ynet news site said Israeli forces had cordoned off the outpost, but hundreds of youths managed to infiltrate to resist the impending evacuation.

In 2006, Israeli police demolished nine homes at Amona, setting off clashes pitting settlers and their supporters against police and soldiers. Several dozen trailers have remained and the outpost has become a symbol for the settlement movement.

Its fate has threatened to rupture Mr Netanyahu's narrow coalition, which is dominated by ultranationalists who support settlements.

Mr Netanyahu has struggled to find a balance between appeasing his settler constituents and respecting Israel's supreme court, which has drawn the ire of hard-liners by ruling against the settlers.
Israeli security forces begin evicting people from the illegal Amona, Mateh Binyamin, outpost built on private Palestinian-owned land near Ramallah in the central West Bank. The Supreme Court ordered residents to leave the area last year.