Israel News for 1-4-19

Amona Again
Twenty-three police officers and three civilians were wounded Thursday morning when Israeli forces evacuated around 300 settlers who recently returned to Amona, the outpost which was evacuated almost 2 years ago. The settlers returned to the outpost last month in protest of a spate of terror attacks in the area. Settlers barricaded themselves in two mobile homes and threw stones and metal objects at police. Seven settlers were arrested.

The settlers had petitioned the High Court of Justice to allow them to stay at the outpost but were rejected. The state gave them 48 hours to evacuate, which expired on Wednesday night.

PM Netanyahu blamed his military advisor Brig. Gen. Avi Blot for the violent evacuation and for removing the 2 mobile homes, against his instructions. According to an IDF statement, IDF Chief of Staff Eizenkot “made it clear” to Blot that he erred in his handling of the evacuation and should have conducted himself in a more professional manner, and that Blot recognized his mistake and said he had learned from the incident.

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Egyptian Partner
In an interview with 60 Minutes, Egyptian President al-Sisi said that in the battle against ISIS in the Sinai peninsula, “we have a wide range of cooperation with the Israelis.” According to reports, both armies regularly meet to exchange intelligence and that Egypt has given Israel permission to carry out over 100 airstrikes against ISIS in Sinai.

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