WSJ: A Shift of Biblical Proportion?

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A Shift of Biblical Proportion?

Israel's Demolition of West Bank Homes
May Signal Wider Pullout
By KARBY LEGGETT
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 27, 2006; Page A7

AMONA, West Bank -- The fate of nine newly built concrete homes at the edge of this Jewish community may soon provide clues to one of the Middle East's most pressing questions: Is Israel preparing to withdraw from parts of the occupied West Bank?

The answer increasingly appears to be yes. Following extended legal wrangling, the Israeli government is completing a plan to demolish Amona's nine concrete homes -- all uninhabited -- because they were constructed illegally on privately owned Palestinian land. With the militant Hamas party winning control1 of the Palestinian Parliament on Wednesday, it is possible Israel would delay the demolition, but several thousand Israeli security personnel are scheduled to carry out the order as early as next week, police and military officials say. The large force reflects concern that pro-settlement activists will resist.

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Amona's case is unique in that the government's decision to demolish the nine homes is the result of a lawsuit brought by Peace Now. After focusing for years on the politics of the settlement enterprise, the left-wing organization last year initiated legal proceedings aimed at compelling the government to enforce laws it had long ignored. The case ended up in the Supreme Court, which sided with Peace Now in declaring the homes illegal.

The precedent could reverberate for years -- and deepen a chasm between Israel's secular majority, which sees the settlements as a security and financial burden, and the religious-nationalist minority committed to expanding them. Dror Etkes, a Peace Now employee who spearheaded the legal effort against Amona, says he is preparing similar cases over other outposts and even a handful of authorized settlements located on Palestinian-owned land. About 30 illegal outposts are now building homes similar to those in Amona.

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