Illegal structures demolished in Ramat Migron, Oz Zion as defense establishment gears for Beit-El eviction

Large IDF, Border Guard and police forces returned to the Ramat Migron outpost on Wednesday and demolished a stone structure. Two of the illegal outpost´s occupants were detained during the razing.

The forces later performed demolitions at the adjacent Oz Zion outpost. Settlers are claiming that five women were arrested during clashes that erupted at the scene.

Security forces have repeatedly evacuated the Ramat Migron outpost which has been rebuilt time and time again. The High Court of Justice has given the State an August 1 deadline to evacuate the outpost.

Meanwhile, security and state officials continue to consider the Ulpana neighborhood issue, which the High Court said must be cleared by July 1. The State has pledged to clear five structures built on private Palestinian land. The High Court ruled the issue will not be reexamined again. Currently, officials are preparing for an eviction.

Security sources estimated there will be no violence on the settlers´ part in case of an evacuation. "This is a complex eviction, both on the technical level as we are dealing with multi-story buildings, and on the level of clearing people´s belongings from the houses," a security source said.

State officials said that the deciding factors appear to realize that any attempt to circumvent the High Court with new legislation would be problematic in creating a constitutional precedence that will not pass.

It is yet unclear what alternative housing the State will offer the settlers with the likely choice being hotels in the Jerusalem area for a short period of time.

The defense establishment is also facing two other evictions of the Givat Assaf outpost, which some estimate could prompt violent outbursts, and Migron. The State is yet to decide whether to leave the structures in Migron as they are or demolish them. Attila Somfalvi contributed to this report (Copyright 2012 © Yedioth Internet 05/17/12)