Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


                  Israeli Settlers Evacuate West Bank Outpost

   by VOA News

   Israeli settlers have voluntarily evacuated a West Bank settlement
   outpost, ending a year-long legal battle with the Israeli Supreme
   Court, which ruled the Jewish homes were illegally built on land
   privately-owned by Palestinians.

   The remaining families of the Migron outpost, built without Israeli
   government authorization, left early Sunday as Israeli police handed
   them orders to evict ahead of a court-ordered Tuesday deadline. The
   families relocated to the nearby government-authorized settlement of
   Ofra. Dozens of radical Israeli youths from other settlements entered
   Migron to protest the eviction, but police removed them.

   Palestinians denounce Israeli settlement activity as robbing them of
   West Bank land they claim for a future state. Much of the international
   community deems all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank as
   illegal. Israel disputes those views and says it expects to keep major
   settlements in any peace deal with the Palestinians.

   Israel's top court had extended the evacuation deadline for Migron
   repeatedly since its August 2011 ruling, as the settlers tried to prove
   ownership of the land and the government asked for delays to persuade
   them to leave voluntarily. The settlers criticized the evacuation order
   but agreed to relocate to Ofra as part of a compromise with the
   government.

   In another development Sunday, Israeli ultranationalists moved into a
   home in East Jerusalem after a court ordered its Palestinian residents
   to vacate part of it. The Israelis took possession of a room and a
   courtyard in the home in the Palestinian neighborhood of Ras al-Amud.

   An Israeli court has ruled that an American supporter of Jewish
   settlements, Irving Moskovitz, legally bought the property from Jewish
   organizations that owned the land before Israel's establishment in
   1948. The Palestinian Hamdallah family has lived in the building since
   1952 and has refused to leave.

   Israel annexed East Jerusalem after the 1967 Mideast war, a move that
   is not recognized internationally. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as
   the future capital of a Palestinian state.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/israeli-settlers-evacuate-west-bank-o
   utpost/1500238.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/israeli-settlers-evacuate-west-bank-outpost/1500238.html