Clashes broke out on Wednesday morning in the Oz Zion settlement outpost in the West Bank, as dozens of Israeli forces evacuated buildings built by settlers on private Palestinian land.

The Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" reported that the settlers set fire to tires and a car, and threw stones at the police, who used demonstration means against the demonstrators.

After the evacuation, masked Israelis began throwing stones at the vehicles of Israeli forces that left the area.

It was decided to deploy forces in the settlement evacuation zone, where the law has not been implemented for more than two years, due to the expectation of violent resistance and nationalist criminal activity in the area.

A security source told Haaretz, without revealing his identity, that the evacuation efforts were unusual and were led by the Civil Administration of the Ministry of Defense after evacuation orders were not implemented at the site for more than two years.

The official added, "In light of the recent terrorist attacks that emerged from this settlement outpost, actions that may lead to destabilization of the area have prompted the head of the Civil Administration to evacuate the buildings in recent weeks, with the aim of continuing to preserve the West Bank as a secondary area."

The official did not clarify the nature or extent of the “terrorist acts” associated with that settlement.

Evacuation process

During the evacuation process, some settlers barricaded themselves inside the buildings by planting their feet in cement, but in the end the evacuation process took place.

On Tuesday night, residents of the settlement outpost went to the far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Ministry of Defense, and demanded that he stop the evacuation process.

They noted that the name of the settlement outpost was changed to “Tzur Harel,” which was named after an Israeli army reservist who was killed during the war on Gaza in December 2023.

They warned the minister that they did not intend to hand over the settlement outpost. They also claimed that residents of the nearby Palestinian village of Burqa were trying to harm them, including “arson, setting off fireworks, and throwing explosives.”

It was also reported that a few days ago the Israeli police issued a West Bank restraining order against one of the founders of the settlement outpost.

For her part, far-right MP Limor Son Har Melech, from the “Jewish Power” party led by Itamar Ben Gvir, attacked Smotrich, saying: “Now I know that the administration under the authority of Minister Smotrich is responsible for the violent evacuation. The administration is supposed to help the residents of Judea and Samaria.” "And not to harm them."

She continued her criticism of Defense Minister Yoav Galant and the chief general of the Israeli army in the West Bank for his "violent and aggressive behavior against them."

Israeli settlers establish settlement outposts on Palestinian lands in the West Bank without government approval, and all settlements are considered illegal according to international law.

According to data from the left-wing Israeli "Peace Now" movement, 191 settlement outposts have been established on Palestinian lands, especially in the West Bank, over the past years.

This number is in addition to the 146 settlements approved by the Israeli government to be established on the West Bank since its occupation in 1967.

Thus, the number of settlers in the West Bank reached more than 478 thousand settlers by the end of 2022. More than 230 thousand settlers reside in settlements on the lands of East Jerusalem.

In recent months, the West Bank has witnessed an escalation in attacks carried out by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, sparking international criticism and calls to stop the escalating violence by settlers against Palestinians.