Residents of the town of Amona held an emergency meeting on Tuesday evening, during which they announced the renewal of their public battle to prevent their eviction from their homes, after an agreement with the government to prevent the eviction hit a snag.
In December, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Jewish Home chairman Naftali Bennett reached an agreement with the 42 families currently residing in Amona which would allow 24 of them to remain on the same hill the town currently rests upon, albeit on new plots.
Under the framework of the agreement, the government would construct replacement homes at the new site, and would build a new neighborhood for the remaining 18 families at a separate location in Samaria.
But residents noted that as of Monday, no work had been done to prepare the replacement homes. With the evacuation of Amona’s currently location slated for February 8, residents pointed out, it was virtually impossible for the government to fulfill the agreement.
Later on Monday, the Supreme Court issued an injunction temporarily barring implementation of the agreement after the leftist Yesh Din organization filed a petition against the construction of the replacement homes.
The latest developments left the residents with no choice “but to announce the renewal of the struggle to prevent the destruction of Amona,” said Avichai Boaron, head of the campaign to save the town, at Tuesday’s meeting.
"Today, 36 days after signing the agreement and 14 days before the eviction of Amona, despite the wording of the agreement, as of now the work has not begun. The political echelon failed in realizing this agreement and living up to its commitments,” continued Boaron.
“This evening we call on our friends and ask them to come to Amona starting next week and tell the political echelon: ‘You cannot erase a 20-year-old Jewish community from the earth. You do not throw 300 people from their homes just like that,’” he added.
"We have always said that Amona would be the first domino to fall, and it's time to stop this process and stop the destruction," concluded Boaron.
Rabbi Haim Druckman, the head of the Bnei Akiva Youth Movement and the Center for Bnei Akiva Yeshivot, said at the conference that "this eviction is an injustice. Nothing can justify it.”
Rabbi Druckman called to “do everything” to ensure that Amona will remain on the hill, adding, “We will continue to build in Judea and Samaria. Nobody will kick us out of here. We will continue to build because this is our land.”
The Chief Rabbi of Samaria, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, turned directly to Netanyahu and said, "Mr. Prime Minister, our hearts are with you during these difficult times for you. Your future is at stake. If you find your love for the land of Israel, your term will continue."
Former MK Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz called on Bennett to "come to the Prime Minister and tell him, ‘We will not take part in a government that destroys communities.’ Anyone who harms the land of disappears from politics. The public will not forgive him. I call on everyone to come to the hill but, G-d forbid, not to raise a hand on soldiers.”