JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli police dismantled a Palestinian tent city set up in the controversial E-1 area.
The Israeli forces removed some 25 protest tents late Wednesday night located in the area between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim on land the Palestinians say is necessary to form a state. The removal came hours after Israel’s Supreme Court lifted a temporary injunction on dismantling the Palestinian outpost, called Baab al Shams, or "sunny gateway,” in Arabic.
In lifting the injunction, the court accepted the government’s argument that the outpost could lead to a security crisis.
The evacuation reportedly took about an hour; the Israeli forces were not met with resistance.
Some 100 Palestinian activists and international activists were removed from the site on Jan. 13, more than a day after the tent city was erected.
Israeli security forces removed the people but not the 25 tents, saying that met the court’s requirements. Israeli soldiers have turned back Palestinians attempting to return to the outpost several times.
The Israeli government in November announced plans to approve construction of thousands of apartments for Jews in the area in response to the Palestinians’ decision to appeal to the United Nations General Assembly for enhanced statehood status.
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