A group of 50 Gush Emunim settlers abandoned a hillside north of Jerusalem late yesterday after an army unit arrived with orders to remove them physically if they persisted in trying to establish an unauthorized settlement on the site.
The Gush had arrived only a short time before at the hill near Beit Horon on the Jerusalem Ramallah highway and announced they were about to “thicken” an existing settlement at Beit Horon. They erected prefabricated structures and locked themselves inside. But they left-peacefully after the commander of the army unit made it clear he would use force if necessary to evacuate them. The incident was described as the shortest-lived Gush settlement attempt to date.
Meanwhile, another group of would-be settlers camped for the second night at an army roadblock near Nablus. The military has barred their advance toward Nablus since Sunday but has taken no steps to remove the 25 families and their equipment from the roadside.
The Gush group, which had been living within the army base at Kadum in the Samaria district of the West Bank, announced its intention to establish a settlement on the outskirts of Nablus, the largest Arab town on the West Bank They have the support of several Knesset militants of the Likud and National Religious Party. The Gush told reporters they had “no time limit” and would stay put until the government ordered the roadblock removed.
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