It has been over two years since the beginning of the political and civil struggle over the fate of the outpost Amona. This Sunday, 13 November, the Ministerial Law Committee unanimously passed the Regulation Bill seeking to legalize Amona and other homes and outposts slated for demolition throughout Judea and Samaria. The bill is the legislative response to the High Court of Justice ruling in 2014, which ordered the Israeli government to dismantle the unauthorized outpost by 25 December 2016, ruling that it was built illegally on private Palestinian land and must be returned to its original owners. A day after passing the Regulation Bill, 14 November, the State Attorney’s request to postpone the evacuation of the outpost was rejected by the Israeli High Court of Justice.
Amona settlers have recently claimed they bought some of the land the outpost sits on, but Palestinians have vehemently denied this. A majority of the Likud faction oppose relocating the Amona settlers and Bayit Hayehudi members have threatened to leave the coalition. The Regulation Bill and the fate of Amona can have far-reaching implications for many other Jewish communities in the West Bank.
Our tour to Amona, Ofra and Silwad included meetings with:
Gilad Grossman, Yesh Din spokesman, the organization that filed the petition to the High Court of Justice
Palestinian petitioners to the land dispute
Amona residents
Avi Roe, Head of Binyamin regional council
