"If we bring 5,000 people here, the army simply won't be able to dismantle the community." So says Binyamin Regional Council chief Pinchas Wallerstein, referring to the government's intentions to uproot the populated neighborhood of Ginot Aryeh in the Binyamin community of Ofrah. Orders to evacuate were posted on the doors of the 15 caravans this morning, and officials of Ofrah and the Amanah settlement organization are currently looking into their legal options. "We are legal," said Meir Nachliel, Ofrah's secretary [a parallel to the position of mayor]. "We have received funding from several government ministries. What we think is illegal is the government's attempt to bypass the judicial process in giving the orders to dismantle the neighborhood and expel its residents." He emphasized that no violence would be employed against soldiers, although it is known that the residents will be implementing methods to make the uprooting "difficult."
Three families and 20 singles live in the neighborhood, which was established in memory of terrorist victim Aryeh Hershkovitz of Ofrah, who was murdered in early 2001. His son Assaf, who was murdered in a separate terrorist attack three months later, is memorialized in Givat Assaf just a few kilometers to the south of Ginot Aryeh, at the strategic turnoff to Beit El.
Three other outposts have also been placed on the to-be-uprooted list for the coming days, but they are not populated and no significant struggle against the dismantling is expected.
The orders posted in Ginot Aryeh today are formulated as emergency orders, although the residents have three days in which to appeal them before a military committee and then again to the Supreme Court.
The government does not appear to be in danger of toppling if Ginot Aryeh is uprooted. The National Religious Party and the National Union will apparently remain in the coalition, although MK Aryeh Eldad of the National Union has said that he will vote against the government from the moment that a populated outpost is dismantled. National Union MKs Uri Ariel and Tzvi Hendel, strong movers and backers of the Yesha settlement enterprise, visited Ginot Aryeh yesterday and said that its destruction would be the "destruction of the democracy and the loss of our ethical base."
Three families and 20 singles live in the neighborhood, which was established in memory of terrorist victim Aryeh Hershkovitz of Ofrah, who was murdered in early 2001. His son Assaf, who was murdered in a separate terrorist attack three months later, is memorialized in Givat Assaf just a few kilometers to the south of Ginot Aryeh, at the strategic turnoff to Beit El.
Three other outposts have also been placed on the to-be-uprooted list for the coming days, but they are not populated and no significant struggle against the dismantling is expected.
The orders posted in Ginot Aryeh today are formulated as emergency orders, although the residents have three days in which to appeal them before a military committee and then again to the Supreme Court.
The government does not appear to be in danger of toppling if Ginot Aryeh is uprooted. The National Religious Party and the National Union will apparently remain in the coalition, although MK Aryeh Eldad of the National Union has said that he will vote against the government from the moment that a populated outpost is dismantled. National Union MKs Uri Ariel and Tzvi Hendel, strong movers and backers of the Yesha settlement enterprise, visited Ginot Aryeh yesterday and said that its destruction would be the "destruction of the democracy and the loss of our ethical base."