Israel determined to continue demolition of Palestinian homes

In revenge for the potential evacuation of illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank following the UN Security Council resolution condemning them, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he is determined to demolish Arab homes in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon reported on Friday.

Speaking during a meeting of the Likud bloc in the Knesset attended by settlers’ leaders, Netanyahu pledged to accelerate the demolition of Palestinian homes. He claimed that it is the “equal enforcement of law” between Israelis and Arabs.

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“The prime minister feels there is a need to make balance between the evacuation of Amona [settlement in the West Bank] and the enforcement of law regarding Arabs’ homes,” said the Makor Rishon report. It noted that in closed meetings, Netanyahu “speaks clearly” that he is not deterred by the EU.

The Israeli leader has announced several times that he feels sorry for the Israeli Jewish settlers of Amona. “My heart with you,” he told them in a short video posted on Twitter. “The government is committed to [Jewish] settlement in Judea and Samaria [the Zionist term for the occupied West Bank]. We are committed to it more than any other government in the history of the state.”

The right-wing prime minister added, “For this reason, the government did everything possible to find a solution that would keep the residents [of illegal Amona settlement] in place. Unfortunately, our recommendations were not accepted.”

Describing the resources and commitment to settlements as a “national need”, Netanyahu explained that, “Anyone who wants to support us, he can do this and go with us, but anyone does not want to go with us, we will go against him.”

Read: ‘Land set aside for Amona evacuees also Palestinian owned’