Operation "Exposed Hilltop" took a break today, but Yesha residents are tensely awaiting it to resume tonight. Ten unmanned civilian outposts in Yesha were dismantled last night and this morning:
* N'vei Erez, south of Michmash
* caravans in Amonah, east of Ofrah
* Einav south, in north-central Shomron
* a hilltop near Elon Moreh
* Shacharit near Bruchin in the Shomron, between Ariel and Petach Tikvah
* Mitzpeh Shabo near Itamar, named after the mother and three sons of the Shabo family who were murdered in a terrorist attack a year ago.
* The industrial storage container in Karmei Tzur South, south of Gush Etzion, was removed by the residents.
* Early this morning, 1-3 structures were removed from N'vei Menachem South near Karnei Shomron, Beit Horon South near Givat Ze'ev, and an Ein Horon neighborhood near Shechem.
Five more outposts, four of which are populated, are slated to be removed/destroyed tonight. They are Tel Chaim B, on the eastern edge of Beit El; the Gilad Farm near Karnei Shomron (already destroyed once last year, but which has since received authorization and been rebuilt); one or two sites around Yitzhar in the Shomron; and a Shavei Shomron neighborhood. Yesha leaders called on the Israeli public to come to the threatened outposts and take part in the struggle to protect them. "The more people who come, they less likely it is that the resistance will take on a violent character," they said. A meeting was planned today between IDF Central Command O.C. Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky and Yesha rabbis.
The Yesha Council has announced that it will rebuild every outpost the IDF tears down - or, alternatively, will put up two others for every one that is removed. In Amonah, for instance, the residents have already replaced the torn-down water tower with a watchtower. This followed a valiant effort by neighboring Ofrah residents who blocked the army from removing the guard post from the area.
Residents of Beit El were on high alert last night for what they thought was the imminent destruction of Tel Chaim B. A few dozen people slept at the site, but most went to sleep expecting to be awoken by the town's public address system in case they were needed. Another Beit El neighborhood - Pisgat Yaakov, with some 20 families - is also a possible candidate for destruction. It is located on the strategic Mt. Artis, with a commanding view of all of Beit El and vicinity. Yet another endangered point under Beit El's "jurisdiction" is the Assaf neighborhood, some four kilometers to the east of Beit El. With seven families, it is situated on a strategic junction along the Jerusalem-Shilo highway - the only Jewish point between Highway 60 and the army camp adjacent to Beit El.
Residents complained that some policemen threatened to arrest residents who asked the policemen to identify themselves.
Some 40 Yitzhar residents took over an abandoned building between Yitzhar and the Arab village of Inbus early this afternoon. A police and army force arrived to remove them.
Professors for a Strong Israel released a statement demanding that the government - "which apparently consists solely of Prime Minister Sharon - refrain from issuing any illegal and unethical order for the ethnic cleansing of Jews from their homes in their homeland... We also note that expending the efforts of the police and army on fighting against Jews is a senseless diversion, when they should be fighting the enemy."
* N'vei Erez, south of Michmash
* caravans in Amonah, east of Ofrah
* Einav south, in north-central Shomron
* a hilltop near Elon Moreh
* Shacharit near Bruchin in the Shomron, between Ariel and Petach Tikvah
* Mitzpeh Shabo near Itamar, named after the mother and three sons of the Shabo family who were murdered in a terrorist attack a year ago.
* The industrial storage container in Karmei Tzur South, south of Gush Etzion, was removed by the residents.
* Early this morning, 1-3 structures were removed from N'vei Menachem South near Karnei Shomron, Beit Horon South near Givat Ze'ev, and an Ein Horon neighborhood near Shechem.
Five more outposts, four of which are populated, are slated to be removed/destroyed tonight. They are Tel Chaim B, on the eastern edge of Beit El; the Gilad Farm near Karnei Shomron (already destroyed once last year, but which has since received authorization and been rebuilt); one or two sites around Yitzhar in the Shomron; and a Shavei Shomron neighborhood. Yesha leaders called on the Israeli public to come to the threatened outposts and take part in the struggle to protect them. "The more people who come, they less likely it is that the resistance will take on a violent character," they said. A meeting was planned today between IDF Central Command O.C. Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky and Yesha rabbis.
The Yesha Council has announced that it will rebuild every outpost the IDF tears down - or, alternatively, will put up two others for every one that is removed. In Amonah, for instance, the residents have already replaced the torn-down water tower with a watchtower. This followed a valiant effort by neighboring Ofrah residents who blocked the army from removing the guard post from the area.
Residents of Beit El were on high alert last night for what they thought was the imminent destruction of Tel Chaim B. A few dozen people slept at the site, but most went to sleep expecting to be awoken by the town's public address system in case they were needed. Another Beit El neighborhood - Pisgat Yaakov, with some 20 families - is also a possible candidate for destruction. It is located on the strategic Mt. Artis, with a commanding view of all of Beit El and vicinity. Yet another endangered point under Beit El's "jurisdiction" is the Assaf neighborhood, some four kilometers to the east of Beit El. With seven families, it is situated on a strategic junction along the Jerusalem-Shilo highway - the only Jewish point between Highway 60 and the army camp adjacent to Beit El.
Residents complained that some policemen threatened to arrest residents who asked the policemen to identify themselves.
Some 40 Yitzhar residents took over an abandoned building between Yitzhar and the Arab village of Inbus early this afternoon. A police and army force arrived to remove them.
Professors for a Strong Israel released a statement demanding that the government - "which apparently consists solely of Prime Minister Sharon - refrain from issuing any illegal and unethical order for the ethnic cleansing of Jews from their homes in their homeland... We also note that expending the efforts of the police and army on fighting against Jews is a senseless diversion, when they should be fighting the enemy."