Ma'ale Rehavam man mourns destroyed home
Ma'ale Rehavam man mourns destroyed homeFlash 90

Security forces expelled a family by force and destroyed their home in Givat Assaf in Samaria on Friday morning.

The Supreme Court had ordered the evacuation of the small community, which is located near Beit El, by next Sunday. Residents on Thursday agreed to dismantle their own community, so as to prevent the forced demolishing of homes as occurred in Ma'ale Rehavam in Judea's Gush Etzion on Wednesday.

However, one family has determinedly refused to vacate and dismantle its home; apparently that family was targeted for forced evacuation by security forces.

Aside from Givat Assaf and Ma'ale Rehavam, the small town of Ramat Gilad in northern Samaria has also been slated by the Supreme Court for demolition by Sunday. Chances of appealing the ruling there are seen as having a greater chance of succeeding, given that there is no dispute that the structures were built on privately owned Jewish land - the land is owned by real estate pioneer Moshe Zar.

The evacuations follow petitions by the far-left group Peace Now seven years ago, claiming that the communities were built on Arab-owned land. A spokesperson of the town said that the land was not privately owned and so the state could have legalized the homes, but did not do so, leading to the Supreme Court instructions that the government demolish them. 

Women in Green protested the decision to demolish the homes, saying "there are tens of thousands of homes that are not regulated throughout the country, especially among the Arabs and Bedouins. Somehow in these places nobody rushes to demolish the houses. In fact plans are  worked on to regulate their illegal construction," a likely reference to the failed Begin-Prawer Plan.

The demolitions have ignited a protest among IDF soldiers.

Two IDF combat soldiers were dismissed on Thursday night from their roles in the Nahal Brigade's Regiment 50, after they put photographs on Facebook of themselves with signs vowing to refuse orders to expel Jews from their homes.

The photos were part of a new protest in which soldiers from various units photographed themselves with similar signs opposing the expulsion of Jews, posting the pictures on Facebook.