Security Forces Empty Evyatar Outpost

Israel’s security authorities started removing the Evyatar outpost on Monday morning, after hundreds of settlers spent the night on a hilltop in the Shomron, promising to repopulate the area in response to the murders of two brothers, Hy”d, the day before.

Activists for the unauthorized outpost stated that security authorities made two efforts to remove them from Evyatar throughout the night but could not get rid of the residents there. Even though officers were able to shuttle individuals away from the site on their third try early in the morning, the statement said that many simply walked back to the outpost.

A video of the evacuation shows Border Police agents removing people, sometimes while using stretchers.

In response to the murder of brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv in a terrorist attack in Hawara on Sunday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir wrote to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday morning urging him to permit the settler activists who illegally entered Evyatar to stay in the settlement.

“Yesterday, dedicated citizens went up to the settlement in response to the awful terror attack in which the brothers Hallel Menachem and Yagel Yaakov Yaniv from Har Bracha were murdered,” wrote Ben Gvir, calling “strengthening the settlements” an “important tool” in fighting terrorism. He continued: “Since there is agreement [among the coalition] over the settlement, it would be just and right to allow these citizens to remain in place.”