The police arrived in the small Jewish town of Nofei Nechemiah, near Ariel, Tuesday morning, and removed a caravan - after emptying it of the resident family's belongings.
The caravan, a small mobile home-without-wheels, was brought into the town just a few days ago, and on Sunday afternoon, a young couple moved in. Tuesday morning, without warning, dozens of special-unit and regular policemen swooped down onto the town, removed the contents of the caravan, and took it away. The Civil Administration informed Arutz-7's Yedidya HaCohen that the caravan had been placed there without a permit.
For the young husband, it was not the first time; he studied and lived in Netzarim, Jewish Gaza, until being thrown out as part of Ariel Sharon's Disengagement plan just over two years ago.
The now-homeless couple had lived in Yevul, in the Halutza Sands area, until this week - and its future is now clouded in uncertainty. The young community of Nofei Nechemiah, near Ariel and Rechelim in the southern Shomron area, has just 16 families - and no empty structures or caravans to house the family. With its belongings scattered on the ground or in a container, the family will apparently head to the young wife's parents and try to figure out what to do next.
Mission: Destroy the Coop!
Three weeks ago, a large police force arrived in the small Gush Etzion town of Kfar Eldad to destroy a pigeon coop that was deemed illegal. The owner, Shlomi Shilo, said the coop was one by two meters in size (21.5 square feet). "I was amazed at the fact that the State spends money on such trivial matters," Shilo said at the time, "even while rockets are falling in Sderot where the schools are unprotected. Yet the State occupies itself with Shlomi's chicken coop..."
These latest police actions are in keeping with the government's policy of "drying-out" the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria, where barely any construction is allowed at all. Despite this, the population there continues to grow faster than the rest of Israel. Peace Now reported last year that Yesha's growth rate was nearly three times higher than that of the rest of the country, and that its birth rate was twice as high as in the rest of Israel.
Five New Towns
Meanwhile, the Land of Israel Loyalists organization officially announced today its plans to build five new Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria next week. The new towns, which will start off as small outposts in keeping with settlement-building traditions of the past 35 years, are: Eitam and Hilltop 1013 in Judea (south of Jerusalem), Nofei Hashmonaim in the Binyamin region, and Shvut Ami and Harhivi further north in the Shomron. The security forces have not yet announced how they plan to deal with this new Land of Israel campaign.
The caravan, a small mobile home-without-wheels, was brought into the town just a few days ago, and on Sunday afternoon, a young couple moved in. Tuesday morning, without warning, dozens of special-unit and regular policemen swooped down onto the town, removed the contents of the caravan, and took it away. The Civil Administration informed Arutz-7's Yedidya HaCohen that the caravan had been placed there without a permit.
For the young husband, it was not the first time; he studied and lived in Netzarim, Jewish Gaza, until being thrown out as part of Ariel Sharon's Disengagement plan just over two years ago.
The now-homeless couple had lived in Yevul, in the Halutza Sands area, until this week - and its future is now clouded in uncertainty. The young community of Nofei Nechemiah, near Ariel and Rechelim in the southern Shomron area, has just 16 families - and no empty structures or caravans to house the family. With its belongings scattered on the ground or in a container, the family will apparently head to the young wife's parents and try to figure out what to do next.
Mission: Destroy the Coop!
Three weeks ago, a large police force arrived in the small Gush Etzion town of Kfar Eldad to destroy a pigeon coop that was deemed illegal. The owner, Shlomi Shilo, said the coop was one by two meters in size (21.5 square feet). "I was amazed at the fact that the State spends money on such trivial matters," Shilo said at the time, "even while rockets are falling in Sderot where the schools are unprotected. Yet the State occupies itself with Shlomi's chicken coop..."
These latest police actions are in keeping with the government's policy of "drying-out" the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria, where barely any construction is allowed at all. Despite this, the population there continues to grow faster than the rest of Israel. Peace Now reported last year that Yesha's growth rate was nearly three times higher than that of the rest of the country, and that its birth rate was twice as high as in the rest of Israel.
Five New Towns
Meanwhile, the Land of Israel Loyalists organization officially announced today its plans to build five new Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria next week. The new towns, which will start off as small outposts in keeping with settlement-building traditions of the past 35 years, are: Eitam and Hilltop 1013 in Judea (south of Jerusalem), Nofei Hashmonaim in the Binyamin region, and Shvut Ami and Harhivi further north in the Shomron. The security forces have not yet announced how they plan to deal with this new Land of Israel campaign.