It's unclear whether, given the public pre-occupation with a retreat from Gush Katif, the government will also put efforts into dismantling unauthorized outposts in Judea and Samaria - but the residents are taking no chances.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon signed an order earlier this month for the army to prepare to remove three outposts, as well as to remove other outposts previously slated for destruction. The three new ones are Givat Assaf ("Assaf Hill," between Beit El and Ofrah in the Shomron), Ramat Gilad ("Gilad Heights," near Karnei Shomron), and one with five families near Negohot in the Southern Hevron Hills.
Preparations to ward off a possible dismantling are most intense at Givat Assaf. Revital Sorek, wife and mother of one of the 14 families at the site, told Arutz-7's Yosef Meiri today,
"Army notices declaring our homes a 'closed military zone' were posted here last week, but they stipulated that we can submit objections - and we have done so. We therefore are fairly confident that we have a few days of 'rest.' In the meanwhile, we're planning a series of events to raise awareness of the importance of Givat Assaf - and that will ensure that there are always a lot of people here, just in case...
"Tonight, there will be a Chabad event here with Kiryat Motzkin's Chief Rabbi David Druckman, and an emergency meeting will be held with Beit El's rabbis, mayor and others this coming Thursday night. A Saturday night Melaveh Malka celebration will be organized by the youth of Beit El, and many people from all around are expected to show up - to show the army our strength... Sunday will be a Torah Study Day, with lectures and classes, becoming a permanent yeshiva for as long as necessary - or possibly even longer..."
Givat Assaf, named for terror-victim Assaf Hershkovitz who was murdered only hundreds of meters away, is located at the turn-off to Beit El. It marks a critical junction along the route leading northwards from Jerusalem to Ofrah, Shilo, and Tapuach. The ramifications of erasing Jewish presence from this site are that the only road leading to Beit El, and a key location along a central-Israel highway, will be under Arab control.
Organizers of the resistance estimate that the police are not at all interested in evacuating the location, and that the determination of local residents to fight such intentions is very high. "However, if the worst happens, we are aware of the army's plans to close off the approach roads, and we have taken these into account," they say. "We have to bring 4-5,000 people here when the hour comes."
Tensions are also high at another endangered outpost - Ramat Gilad, near Karnei Shomron. Six families live there, including one with ten children; their mother is the sister of terror-victim Gilad Zar, for whom the neighborhood is named. The neighborhood has received all the necessary permits, save for final authorization from the Defense Minister. Supporters say that the reason the government refers to the site as Flag Hill - its name from eight years ago - is to blur the fact that it has received authorization under its current name of Ramat Gilad. The name Flag Hill was given it after the youth of Karnei Shomron fashioned there an almost 800-square meter Israeli flag - the largest flag in the world, as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records. The flag was later set on fire by Arab hoodlums.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon signed an order earlier this month for the army to prepare to remove three outposts, as well as to remove other outposts previously slated for destruction. The three new ones are Givat Assaf ("Assaf Hill," between Beit El and Ofrah in the Shomron), Ramat Gilad ("Gilad Heights," near Karnei Shomron), and one with five families near Negohot in the Southern Hevron Hills.
Preparations to ward off a possible dismantling are most intense at Givat Assaf. Revital Sorek, wife and mother of one of the 14 families at the site, told Arutz-7's Yosef Meiri today,
"Army notices declaring our homes a 'closed military zone' were posted here last week, but they stipulated that we can submit objections - and we have done so. We therefore are fairly confident that we have a few days of 'rest.' In the meanwhile, we're planning a series of events to raise awareness of the importance of Givat Assaf - and that will ensure that there are always a lot of people here, just in case...
"Tonight, there will be a Chabad event here with Kiryat Motzkin's Chief Rabbi David Druckman, and an emergency meeting will be held with Beit El's rabbis, mayor and others this coming Thursday night. A Saturday night Melaveh Malka celebration will be organized by the youth of Beit El, and many people from all around are expected to show up - to show the army our strength... Sunday will be a Torah Study Day, with lectures and classes, becoming a permanent yeshiva for as long as necessary - or possibly even longer..."
Givat Assaf, named for terror-victim Assaf Hershkovitz who was murdered only hundreds of meters away, is located at the turn-off to Beit El. It marks a critical junction along the route leading northwards from Jerusalem to Ofrah, Shilo, and Tapuach. The ramifications of erasing Jewish presence from this site are that the only road leading to Beit El, and a key location along a central-Israel highway, will be under Arab control.
Organizers of the resistance estimate that the police are not at all interested in evacuating the location, and that the determination of local residents to fight such intentions is very high. "However, if the worst happens, we are aware of the army's plans to close off the approach roads, and we have taken these into account," they say. "We have to bring 4-5,000 people here when the hour comes."
Tensions are also high at another endangered outpost - Ramat Gilad, near Karnei Shomron. Six families live there, including one with ten children; their mother is the sister of terror-victim Gilad Zar, for whom the neighborhood is named. The neighborhood has received all the necessary permits, save for final authorization from the Defense Minister. Supporters say that the reason the government refers to the site as Flag Hill - its name from eight years ago - is to blur the fact that it has received authorization under its current name of Ramat Gilad. The name Flag Hill was given it after the youth of Karnei Shomron fashioned there an almost 800-square meter Israeli flag - the largest flag in the world, as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records. The flag was later set on fire by Arab hoodlums.