West Bank settlers accept new deal for non-violent relocation

Settlers of the Amona outpost in the West Bank accepted Sunday an improved relocation deal, offered by the Israeli government, for a peaceful evacuation of the unsanctioned outpost.

Under the deal, 24 families of Amona's 42 families could be relocated by the government to a nearby plot on the same hill.

The outpost, erected in 1996 without proper permits from Israeli authorities, is due to be evacuated under a Supreme Court order.

On Sunday morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu implored the settlers to accept the new deal. "We have been making very great efforts to reach an agreed-upon solution in Amona," Netanyahu told his weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

Noting that no previous governments "showed more concern for the settlements," Netanyahu said that his government has "held dozens of discussions and submitted many proposals."

Last week, the settlers rejected a previous deal for non-violent evacuation. The new offer doubles the number of families that could be relocated to the nearby plots.

The new plots were announced by Israel as "abandoned."

However, Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group, said they made contact with the Palestinian landowner of the plot. "He will soon file his objection to the declaration of his land as abandoned property," Yesh Din said in a statement, adding that the proposed plan is not only illegal, but also, now, unfeasible.

Amona, east of Ramallah city, is the largest of about 100 outposts far-right settlers have erected without official permission. Israeli governments have often turned a blind eye to their construction.

In 2014, the Supreme Court had ruled that Amona must be evicted after it was proved to have been built on private Palestinian land. The Court allowed the government to carry out the eviction of Amona's 300 residents by Dec. 25. Endit