Land of Israel activists blocked the Highway 1 entrance to Jerusalem on Monday evening as part of an ongoing struggle to prevent the forced eviction of unauthorized outposts. The activists were protesting the destruction of Nahalat Yosef, near Elon Moreh, earlier in the day.
At the same time, protestors elsewhere in the country demonstrated near major intersections.
Police ended the demonstration in Jerusalem, removing protestors from the road and arresting four of them. Demonstrators managed to place burning tires in the road, leading to heavy traffic in the area, even after they were forced back onto the sidewalk.
At Ramat Gilad in Samaria, residents prepared for the arrival of security forces, who are expected to attempt to demolish the fledgling community in the near future. “We've prepared surprises, and we hope they will understand that Ramat Gilad will not be evacuated, certainly not quickly,” said local resident and landowner Itai Zer.
Zer said activists' goals was “to reach a point where [Prime Minister] Netanyahu will prefer to tell [U.S. President] Obama that he prefers not to get involved with the dear settlers.” Pressure from Obama and the U.S. is seen as a key factor in the government's recent decision to destroy dozens of small unauthorized Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria.
The government has expressed a desire to negotiate with outpost activists and convince them to evacuate by choice, rather than by force. However, residents of Samaria say the army destroyed structures in Nahalat Yosef on Monday morning despite an agreement to allow the owner of the structures to remove them peaceably. The owner suffered losses due to the demolition, they said.
Samaria regional council head Gershon Mesika said the Nahalat Yosef outpost would be rebuilt as quickly as possible.