A large force of Border Police and Civil Administration personnel arrived on Tuesday morning at the Beit Anot hilltop encampment, located in the Hebron Hills near Kiryat Arba, and demolished its structures.
The family that resided on the hilltop, together with its two children, was evicted, with a woman in the ninth month of her pregnancy having to leave her home under difficult conditions. Additionally, the local sheep pen and chicken coop were demolished; according to the family, several chickens lost their lives during the demolition.
Two weeks ago, demolition orders were issued for dozens of encampments in Judea and Samaria. The Beit Anot hilltop, which was founded several months ago, was among those communities.
Netanel Popper, the father of the family that was evicted, recounted: "We woke up last night to a large number of forces surrounding the house. My wife is in her ninth month of pregnancy, but that didn't really interest them. They told us to leave the house within minutes, and they destroyed it to pieces."
Netanel added that despite the difficulties, his family is proud to participate in what he called the enterprise of settling the Land of Israel, and noted: "We've learned that the Land of Israel is obtained through suffering, and we are proud of this privilege. Beit Anot will flourish with G-d's help and become a permanent community in Judea."
Residents of the encampment add that "over the past few years, Beit Anot has become an important landmark in the Zionist struggle in the Hebron Hills in light of the efforts to settle and defend the area, especially amid the attempts to expand the village of Halhul toward Route 60."
The IDF stated that “security forces operated overnight to carry out renewed enforcement against four illegal Israeli structures that were built in the area of the Bypass Junction within the Judea Brigade. The evacuation was carried out in accordance with the law and the legal framework in effect in the area. It is emphasized that the construction components were built on privately owned Palestinian land, and that the evacuation was conducted pursuant to an order signed by the Commander of the Central Command, as part of the IDF’s duty to ensure the safety of all residents of the area.”