Last extremist settlers removed from dismantled illegal W.B settlement of Homesh

Wednesday April 25, 2007 16:20 by Polly Bangoriad - 1 of International Middle East Media Center - IMEMC Editorial Group

The Israeli army issued a statement on Wednesday saying that Israeli border police had removed the last right-wing Israeli settlers from the ruins of what used to be the illegal settlement of Homesh, near the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

The settlement was evacuated and dismantled in Israel's disengagement plan in 2005. However, right-wing extremist settlers have recently been attempting to re-inhabit the ruins.

A group calling itself 'Homesh First' has lead several marches to the old settlement in the past few weeks, despite the Israeli army's somewhat feeble attempts to ban such activity.  

Thousands of settlers and right wing extremists flooded to the area on Tuesday, in celebration of the day that marks 59 years since the creation of the state of Israel on Palestinian land. Hundreds of them spent Tuesday night amongst the ruins when Israeli forces prevented the access of buses that had come to fetch the extremists at the end of the day.  

Today Israeli media sources reported that the last participants had finally been removed from the area. According to an Israeli army spokesman, settlers attacked soldiers who tried to block their way. Two soldiers were slightly injured and treated at a nearby military clinic, and one settler was arrested.  

jenin | israeli settlement | news report pollyanna.delany at gmail dot com