Israeli forces begin evacuation of West Bank outpost

AMONA, West Bank (AP) — Israeli forces began an operation today to evacuate settlers from a West Bank outpost, a long-delayed move that had posed a serious threat to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's narrow coalition, which is dominated by ultranationalists who support settlements.

Unarmed police in blue sweatshirts and black baseball caps made their way up a hill to the unauthorized cluster of homes around midday. On the hilltop, youngsters erected makeshift barricades from smashed tiles, rusty metal bars and large stones to slow their advance. Some protesters threw rocks at security forces, while others set fire to tires and trash piles.

Amona is the largest of about 100 outposts erected in the West Bank without permission but generally tolerated by the Israeli government. Israel's Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that Amona was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished. It set Feb. 8 as the final date for its destruction.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said some 3,000 police officers were deployed to "carefully and slowly" evacuate the area. Minor scuffles broke out between some activists and police. Authorities said 16 officers were slightly injured by stones and an unidentified liquid hurled by the protesters, several of whom were arrested.

The outpost, built in the 1990s, stretches over a rugged, grassy hilltop and looks out across the valley onto Palestinian villages. In 2006, Israeli police demolished nine homes at Amona, setting off violent clashes pitting settlers and their supporters against police and soldiers and turning the outpost into a symbol of settler defiance.