The outpost of Mitzpeh Yitzhar is close to being destroyed. At 11 AM today, 1,000 police officers and other security personnel began trying to demolish the lone remaining structure in the neighborhood, and evacuating the hundreds of people who came to try to prevent them from doing so.
MK Uri Ariel (National Union) called last night upon those who are "loyal to the Land of Israel" to take an active role in the struggle against the evacuation and demolition of "unauthorized outposts" in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. He mentioned specifically Mitzpeh Yitzhar near Shechem, as well as Givat Assaf outside Beit El and Ramat Gilad near Karnei Shomron. "The arrival of thousands of people at these sites could prevent the evacuation," MK Ariel said, adding that there was still hope that legal avenues might forestall the decree in some of the locations.
Dozens of residents of nearby communities blocked the access road to Mitzpeh Yitzhar this morning with burning tires, improvised roadblocks and their own bodies. Some 30 protestors have been arrested, and several were also injured. The police, armed with clubs and horses, used "strong violence," eyewitnesses said.
Several caravans and other temporary structures at Mitzpeh Yitzhar were removed by the residents themselves in the past, and the struggle is now concentrated on a lone, wood-and-stone structure that remains.
Yitzchak Sandroi, builder and owner of the targeted building, is scheduled to be married two weeks from now, and had planned to move in with his new wife. Seeing a house of his being destroyed for the second time in a year, he said simply, "I'm fine, and we're not giving up. This is all just a 'corridor,' just a temporary situation; if they knock it down, we'll build it again. Soon, the ultimate truth will be revealed."
He does not seem worried at not knowing where he and his wife will live. "We need more and more people to come here today," he said. "If 1,500 people come, we can still succeed in preventing the police from knocking it down - and even if they do destroy it, we need people to stay here in the area and not let this location be abandoned."
Among those at the site protesting the attempted demolition are Rabbi Shlomo Aviner and some 150 rabbis and others. IDF roadblocks stopped them at Tapuach Junction, and they then walked for two hours to reach Mitzpeh Yitzhar.
Yesha Council sources say they fear that the uprooting of Mitzpeh Yitzhar could be just the first of many such demolitions, leading to the evacuation and destruction of full-fledged communities.
Last June, in the midst of legal proceedings regarding the demolition of four Mitzpeh Yitzhar structures, the army destroyed three other buildings for which no demolition orders were ever produced. The army later allowed the residents to rebuild two structures. Yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy proposed a compromise under which the residents would leave and the status of the building would be decided later - but the State refused it, and Justice Levy implied that he had no choice but to rule against the residents.
One eyewitness told Arutz-7's Yosef Meiri that the police are waging a two-pronged strategy to destroy the house. "Bulldozers have been trying to advance to the site, and in the past four hours, have managed to advance only a few dozen meters - and they're still a kilometer or so away. People keep jumping in front, and the soldiers have to pull them away. At the house itself, however, are soldiers who are trying to rip the house apart manually. Unfortunately, they're having a bit more success, although it will take them hours at this rate."
In other Yesha news, some 500 Jews prayed in Joseph's Tomb in Shechem late last night. Among the worshipers, whose visit was coordinated with Israel's security services, were Breslover Hasidim and Rabbis Shmuel Eliyahu and Mordechai Elon. Today, the 41st day of the Counting of the Omer, is traditionally associated with Joseph.
MK Uri Ariel (National Union) called last night upon those who are "loyal to the Land of Israel" to take an active role in the struggle against the evacuation and demolition of "unauthorized outposts" in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. He mentioned specifically Mitzpeh Yitzhar near Shechem, as well as Givat Assaf outside Beit El and Ramat Gilad near Karnei Shomron. "The arrival of thousands of people at these sites could prevent the evacuation," MK Ariel said, adding that there was still hope that legal avenues might forestall the decree in some of the locations.
Dozens of residents of nearby communities blocked the access road to Mitzpeh Yitzhar this morning with burning tires, improvised roadblocks and their own bodies. Some 30 protestors have been arrested, and several were also injured. The police, armed with clubs and horses, used "strong violence," eyewitnesses said.
Several caravans and other temporary structures at Mitzpeh Yitzhar were removed by the residents themselves in the past, and the struggle is now concentrated on a lone, wood-and-stone structure that remains.
Yitzchak Sandroi, builder and owner of the targeted building, is scheduled to be married two weeks from now, and had planned to move in with his new wife. Seeing a house of his being destroyed for the second time in a year, he said simply, "I'm fine, and we're not giving up. This is all just a 'corridor,' just a temporary situation; if they knock it down, we'll build it again. Soon, the ultimate truth will be revealed."
He does not seem worried at not knowing where he and his wife will live. "We need more and more people to come here today," he said. "If 1,500 people come, we can still succeed in preventing the police from knocking it down - and even if they do destroy it, we need people to stay here in the area and not let this location be abandoned."
Among those at the site protesting the attempted demolition are Rabbi Shlomo Aviner and some 150 rabbis and others. IDF roadblocks stopped them at Tapuach Junction, and they then walked for two hours to reach Mitzpeh Yitzhar.
Yesha Council sources say they fear that the uprooting of Mitzpeh Yitzhar could be just the first of many such demolitions, leading to the evacuation and destruction of full-fledged communities.
Last June, in the midst of legal proceedings regarding the demolition of four Mitzpeh Yitzhar structures, the army destroyed three other buildings for which no demolition orders were ever produced. The army later allowed the residents to rebuild two structures. Yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy proposed a compromise under which the residents would leave and the status of the building would be decided later - but the State refused it, and Justice Levy implied that he had no choice but to rule against the residents.
One eyewitness told Arutz-7's Yosef Meiri that the police are waging a two-pronged strategy to destroy the house. "Bulldozers have been trying to advance to the site, and in the past four hours, have managed to advance only a few dozen meters - and they're still a kilometer or so away. People keep jumping in front, and the soldiers have to pull them away. At the house itself, however, are soldiers who are trying to rip the house apart manually. Unfortunately, they're having a bit more success, although it will take them hours at this rate."
In other Yesha news, some 500 Jews prayed in Joseph's Tomb in Shechem late last night. Among the worshipers, whose visit was coordinated with Israel's security services, were Breslover Hasidim and Rabbis Shmuel Eliyahu and Mordechai Elon. Today, the 41st day of the Counting of the Omer, is traditionally associated with Joseph.