18 settlers detained as forces clear Givat Ora Yisrael outpost near Salfit

Israeli security forces detained 18 settlers on Monday while carrying out an evacuation and demolition at Givat Ora Yisrael, an unauthorised outpost in the northern West Bank near the Palestinian town of Salfit, after clashes in which roads were blocked and tyres were set alight. The Times of Israel reported, citing the military, that the detainees were held for assaulting and obstructing security personnel, and that dozens of Border Police officers and Civil Administration soldiers had arrived at the site in the morning to tear it down.

In its own statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described a "renewed enforcement operation" against several illegal structures inside a closed military zone in the Salfit area, a place where, it said, Israeli civilians had "repeatedly engaged in violent and illegal activities." According to the military, people from the outpost burned tyres and put up barriers on main roads to stop the forces reaching it, leaving routes in the area closed for the whole morning.

What was found and where the detainees went

News.co.il reported, attributing the details to security officials, that dozens of rioters took part in the disturbances, that the forces were enforcing demolition orders, and that several vehicles were seized. In one of them, according to that report, officers found flammable materials, implements for attack and pepper spray. Ynet gave a matching account of the vehicle search and added that the 18 detainees were handed over for questioning in the police's Judea and Samaria District, the district of the Israel Police that covers the West Bank.

The outpost and its history

The site is called Givat Ora Yisrael in the English reports; Ynet refers to it by the shorter name Ora Yisrael. A photo caption carried by The Times of Israel places it near the settlement of Rehelim, and the Hebrew outlets locate it in the Shomron, or Samaria, the biblical name Israelis commonly use for the northern part of the West Bank.

The reports agree that this was not the first time the outpost had been cleared, but they differ in how much they say about it. The Times of Israel states only that Israeli authorities have evacuated it before. Ynet goes further, reporting that it has been evacuated 15 times and describing it as a base from which attacks on Palestinians are launched. That characterisation appears in Ynet's report and is not made in the IDF's statement, which refers more generally to repeated violent and illegal activity by Israeli civilians in the area.

Outposts, the Border Police and the Civil Administration

In Israeli usage, an outpost is a cluster of caravans, huts or other structures put up by settlers without government authorisation. Unlike recognised settlements, outposts are illegal under Israeli law as well, and the state periodically issues demolition orders against them. Evacuations are frequently followed by attempts to rebuild, which is why the same site can be cleared again and again.

The Border Police is a paramilitary arm of the Israel Police that is often deployed in the West Bank, including for evacuations. The Civil Administration is the body within Israel's defence establishment that handles civilian matters in the parts of the West Bank under Israeli control, including planning and building enforcement; its staff include soldiers. A closed military zone is an area the army has declared off limits, allowing it to remove people who enter without permission.

Salfit is a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank, surrounded by a number of Israeli settlements. Violence by settlers against Palestinians and, at times, against Israeli forces is a recurring issue in the territory, and the IDF's own description of the area points to repeated incidents there.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports says whether any soldiers, police officers, settlers or Palestinians were injured in the clashes, despite the military's statement that troops were attacked. They do not name the detainees, give their ages or say where they live, and they do not report whether any have been charged or released. The reports do not state how many structures were demolished, whether the outpost was fully cleared by the end of the operation, or how long the roads stayed closed beyond the morning. The figure of 15 previous evacuations comes from Ynet alone and is not confirmed by the military or the other outlets.