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In a previous march to Homesh, activists clash with IDF soldiers, March 28, 2007. (Photo: Flash90)
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| By Israel Insider staff July 23, 2007 |
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Police completed the forced evacuation of hundreds of rightwing activists from the former Samarian settlement of Homesh Monday. During the process, some activists were arrested, some escaped to nearby hills, while others fled to a nearby Palestinian village where clashes broke out.
Though many activists were prevented from marching on the site Sunday by police checkpoints, some succeeded in entering the site early Monday where they attempted to build a synagogue with bricks they had brought with them. They also constructed a wooden tower to mark the two-year anniversary of the 2005 disengagement.
In August of 2005, settlers were forced to leave Homesh and their houses were razed as part of the disengagement. Since then, rightwing activists have marched on the site in four separate occasions in an attempt to resettle it.
Army officials expressed anger over the incident, which required them to abandon their usual activities.
"Instead of training and dealing with routine security-related tasks the army is forced to chase after the activists," one official said.
"All those who arrived at Homesh will be evacuated," he added.
Of the approximately 300 hundred activists that succeeded at reaching Homesh, approximately half left the site peacefully, while the most of the others escaped to nearby hilltops. Around 70 activists fled to the neighboring Palestinian village of Burka, where conflict broke out.
When the activists arrived in Burka, a clash apparently erupted between the activists and the local Palestinians in which both groups threw rocks at each other. According to a report in Haaretz, when IDF troops attempted to calm the situation, some Palestinians set off an explosive device directed at the troops, though no one was injured.
According to Homesh First, the group that organized the march, security forces beat six youths with sticks, leaving one unconscious. Emergency medical services on the scene, however, said that no one was injured. |
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