Israeli Forces Dismantle Illegal West Bank Outpost Set Up After Deadly Stabbing Attack

Israel Defense Forces evacuated a new and illegal West Bank outpost set up in wake of the murder of an Israeli man in a terror attack two weeks ago.

The outpost, located adjacent to Tapuah, included a few caravans and was named Avitar by its residents.

According to security sources, settlers burned tires, threw rocks, and poured oil on access routes during the evacuation, in an attempt to prevent it. Police arrested three individuals suspected of attacking security forces carrying out the evacuation.

Palestinians from the area reported that following the evacuation, a group of settlers marched toward the Tapuah settlement, and on the way, attacked two Palestinian cars. Zecharaia Sada, a member of the Rabbis for Human Rights organization, said that the group attacked him as well, throwing rocks at him and hitting his car's windshield and shattering it.

Two weeks ago, Rabbi Itamar Ben Gal, a 29-year-old teacher, was stabbed by an Israeli Arab from Jaffa outside the West Bank city of Ariel. At Ben-Gal's funeral, Rabbi Eliezar Melamed, head of the Har Barcha seminary, said that "the strongest form of revenge is to keep building more neighborhoods" in the West Bank.