IDF, COGAT evacuate illegal outpost near Hebron three months after residents attack police - report

Israeli security forces, in coordination with the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), evacuated an illegal settler outpost named Givat Or Yehuda in the southern Hebron hills. The operation occurred on Monday, according to Army Radio.

The outpost had been identified as the site of a violent confrontation three months earlier. During an attempt by security forces to confiscate illegally held vehicles, extremist settlers reportedly threw stones at police officers and blocked roads. This prior incident is cited as the reason for Monday's evacuation.

The evacuation takes place amid a series of violent settler attacks against Palestinian villages. Notably, the village of Kusra, located over 100 kilometers north of Susya, has been the target of repeated incursions. Despite the IDF declaring the area a closed military zone, some settlers entered Kusra again on Saturday. IDF troops eventually read the closed military area order to the settlers, who then departed.

The IDF announced it would conduct a probe into the Kusra incident. The investigation will examine why it took 48 hours to evacuate the illegal outpost and why military forces did not remove it a second time after settlers returned. Palestinian residents in the area continue to report feeling threatened by Jewish extremists. The recent events in Kusra have drawn international attention and condemnation, even from figures who generally support Israeli settlements in the West Bank. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir acknowledged that while he admires settlers who build outposts, some among them "really need to be stopped."

“

there are some among them who really need to be stopped.