Evicted West Bank Settlers Stage Hunger Strike
Amona settlers during the evacuation by Israeli police. Image by Getty Images
By Naomi Zeveloff March 6, 2017
Amona settlers are hunger striking to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver on his promise to build a new West Bank settlement.
Amona, a hilltop outpost of 40 families, was evacuated in late January after the High Court ruled that it had been built on private Palestinian land.
Amid outcry from his right wing base, Netanyahu promised to build a new neighborhood to house the Amona families — the first new Jewish settlement in the West Bank in 25 years.
But heeding the Trump administration’s warning against new settlements, Netanyahu said that he might have to retract his promise to the Amona evacuees. Later he assured them that he meant to keep his promise.
Amona residents announced their hunger strike last week outside of the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem.
“The Prime Minister should be the first of all people in Israel to keep his word and meet his commitments, and in this regard he should be a role model for the youth of Israel. Even Donald Trump – as a businessman – understands that agreements must be honored,” said Avichai Boaron, a spokesman for the settlers, according to the pro-settler news site Arutz Sheva.
Contact Naomi Zeveloff at [email protected]
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
