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. 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. 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. Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for an independent state, with its capital 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. Under the latest Supreme Court ruling, it had to be evacuated by Feb. 8. 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. In 2006, Israeli police demolished nine homes at Amona, setting off clashes pitting settlers and their supporters against police and soldiers. She said she'd stay until security forces physically carried her out." The legal battle over Amona has dragged on for eight years. Israeli authorities likely wanted to avoid the sort of violent clashes that occurred there in 2006 when troops attempted to dismantle eight empty homes. 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. Its fate has threatened to rupture Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's narrow coalition, which is dominated by ultra-nationalists who support settlements. "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.
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.