what is the amona settlement

by Prof. Jerod Johnson II Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago

Amona (Hebrew: עמונה) was an Israeli outpost in the central . Located on a hill overlooking Ofra within the municipal boundaries of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, the village was founded in 1995 on privately owned Palestinian land. As of 2012, its population was around 200.

Full Answer

What happened to the Amona settlement?

In June 2014 an Israeli court brought down a judgement awarding 300,000 shekels ($85,700) to 6 Palestinian plaintiffs, the owners affected by the Amona settlement on their land, and further ruled that the State is to pay out a further sum of 48,000 shekels ($13,500) in damages if it fails to remove the settlers by 2015.

What is the history of Amona?

Amona ( Hebrew: עמונה ‎) was an Israeli outpost in the central West Bank. Located on a hill overlooking Ofra within the municipal boundaries of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, the village was founded in 1995 on privately owned Palestinian land. As of 2012, its population was around 200.

Where is Amona located in the West Bank?

Amona, Mateh Binyamin. Amona (Hebrew: עמונה‎) was an Israeli outpost in the central West Bank. Located on a hill overlooking Ofra within the municipal boundaries of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, the village was founded in 1995 on privately owned Palestinian land.

What is the significance of the Amona demolition?

Amona has become highly symbolic, revealing the role in the settlement enterprise of the settlement movement, the Israeli State and the Court. In 1997, the first demolition order was issued, followed by another one in 2003.

What happened at Amona?

In March 2006, the Knesset parliamentary inquiry into the events at Amona determined that security forces had employed excessive brutality, striking protesters with clubs and charging them with horses. Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra was criticised for preventing police commanders from testifying at the hearings. The committee also found contradictions in the testimonies of the Army Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and the Internal Security Minister. Despite these findings, no resignations followed. In May 2006 Israeli President Moshe Katsav met with some of the protesters injured at Amona and stated that he would ask for a renewal of the investigation.

Where was Amona built?

It was one of the first outposts. Amona was constructed on property the Palestinians of Silwad used to cultivate and grow crops on, land that was stolen from them by Ofra teenagers. According to documents of the Israeli Civil Administration, the land had been cultivated and worked by local Palestinians until the outpost was erected, though the settlers claim that the site was a rocky hilltop before. Yesh Din states that Amona is built on the land of three Palestinian villages, Silwad, Ein Yabrud and Taybeh. Amira Hass, interviewing one of the Silwad petitioners, Abed al Rahman Ashur, writes:

What does the sign on the house in Amona mean?

A Jewish home in Amona before the destruction by Israeli forces. The sign reads "Every house destroyed a victory for Hamas."

When was Amona evacuated?

The outpost of Amona was evacuated in February 2017 by order from the government of Israel.

Why did the state of Israel postpone the trial?

On 14 October 2013, the state asked the court for a new postponement, to prevent "harm of Israel's diplomatic interests", and because there is "no concrete petitioner" (because it was a general claim).

When was the village of Ofra founded?

Located on a hill overlooking Ofra within the municipal boundaries of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, the village was founded in 1995 on privately owned Palestinian land. As of 2012, its population was around 200. As of October 2013, the outpost lodged 42 families. It was evacuated completely in February 2017 in compliance with a ruling by ...

When was Amona destroyed?

In 2004, the Amana settlement organization completed the construction of nine permanent homes at Amona, all built illegally on privately owned land and appropriately registered to Palestinians. In October 2004, the Israeli Civil Administration ordered the demolition of the structures. On 3 July 2005, Peace Now petitioned the Israeli High Court charging Israeli authorities with failing to implement stop-work orders at the site, and with failing to implement demolition orders issues in October 2004. In November 2005, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered the demolition by the end of January 2006.

Overview

Amona (Hebrew: עמונה) was an Israeli outpost in the central West Bank. Located on a hill overlooking Ofra within the municipal boundaries of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, the village was founded in 1995 on privately owned Palestinian land. As of 2012, its population was around 200. As of October 2013, the outpost lodged 42 families. It was evacuated completely in February …

Background

Amona was founded in 1995 on private Palestinian land by young settlers from Ofra who thought it was getting too urbanized for their taste. It was one of the first outposts. Amona was constructed on property the Palestinians of Silwad used to cultivate and grow crops on, land that was stolen from them by Ofra teenagers. According to documents of the Israeli Civil Administration, the land had been cultivated and worked by local Palestinians until the outpost was erected, though the s…

2005 petition

2008 petition

In 2008, the Israeli non-governmental organization Yesh Din petitioned the Supreme Court on behalf of the Palestinian landowners, demanding the demolition of the entire outpost. The State repeatedly requested a delay. On 28 April 2013, the court granted a last postponement of the evacuation until 15 July 2013.
As the settlers contended they purchased some of the land in the meantime through the Al-Wata…

2014 court judgments

Complete evacuation