Israel begins evacuating West Bank settler homesFebruary 28, 2017 - 16:35 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Israeli police on Tuesday, February 28 began removing residents and protesters from nine West Bank settler homes set to be demolished under a Supreme Court ruling, AFP reports. The homes in the Ofra settlement -- a symbol of Jewish settler defiance to international concerns -- were found to have been built on private Palestinian land and ordered razed by March 5. On Tuesday police were entering the homes and removing young protesters one at a time, an AFP reporter said. One youth was arrested for attacking officers, according to a police statement. Police said they would act with restraint but would not tolerate violence. Eight families had agreed to leave their homes ahead of time, police said. Leaders of the Ofra community said they were intent on preventing clashes with security forces such as those that took place during the eviction of the nearby Amona outpost three weeks ago, where youths barricaded themselves in the synagogue and wounded Israeli forces with stones and acid. Amona residents announced they would begin a hunger strike on Wednesday until the government kept its committment to build them a new settlement. More than 400,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967. Most of the international community sees settlements as a major obstacle to peace, as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state. Israel distinguishes between settlements it has authorised and those built without permission. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |