News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Security forces destroyed two small Jewish communities near Shechem on Wednesday.  Forces destroyed a synagogue and one other structure in the town of Harchivi.  Activists fled the area as forces were arriving, but say they will return later in the day to begin rebuilding the town.

Dozens of activists clashed with police during the expulsion of Jews from Shvut Ami.  Activists placed barbed wire and rocks across nearby roads and refused to leave the area.  They were dragged away by police, and several were arrested.  Activists said that they have already begun to rebuild the town.

Shvut Ami and Harchivi are two of 10 new communities in Judea and Samaria that activists have built in response to the government’s plan to create a Palestinian Authority state in the area, and to recent terrorist attacks in which three Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria were murdered.