Police, soldiers and Border Police entered Migron late on Monday night and destroyed two structures that had remained standing during a previous demolition. A video caught the shocking force in the expulsion and destruction.
Four young women were arrested for allegedly violating an order distancing them from the town. A young man was arrested as well, for reasons that are not yet clear. The Honenu legal rights group is in touch with the detainees.
Those carrying out the demolition confiscated several personal items present at the site, among them holy books and tefillin (phylacteries).
The second round of destruction came as, for the first time, a significant number of Migron residents called on soldiers to refuse demolition orders. Approximately one third of the community’s estimated 50 families have signed on a petition asking soldiers to disobey if ordered to expel families from their homes by force.
In the past, Migron residents, most of whom regularly serve in IDF reserves units, refrained from calling on soldiers to disobey. The petition stated that their change of mind was made “in light of the IDF’s transformation from the Israel Defense Force to a political force, in a move dealing a harsh blow to human rights.”
The Our Land of Israel movement has begun a campaign to reward soldiers who are punished for refusing to carry out expulsion orders.
Many residents also signed a second petition, which called on other Israelis living in Judea and Samaria to join them in fighting forcible eviction. “If Migron falls, the entire settlement enterprise will follow,” they warned.