Demolition
DemolitionIsrael news photo (file): Yochai Damri

Riot police carried out another pre-dawn “search and destroy” operation at a Jewish hilltop community in Samaria. As usual, residents already have begun work to rebuild the four structures that were destroyed.

The new target early Wednesday morning was Aleh Ayin, located adjacent to the town of Shiloh in central Samaria. Police arrived around 4:30 a.m. and demolished the structures that were used by youth who work the land and herd sheep. One of the buildings was a barn for the sheep.

Area residents charged that the police acted “cruelly and illegally” and that they confiscated cellular phones in order to prevent anyone from filming the demolitions and calling for civilian reinforcements.

Several previous demolition efforts have been thwarted by the arrival of a large number of residents in Judea and Samaria, whose presence sometimes serves as a moderating force in the use of violence by police. In some cases, large turnouts have succeeded in halting demolition operations.

The latest police raid “will not break our will,” residents said. They began rebuilding shortly after dawn.