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Israel demolishes buildings at evacuated West Bank outpost

Israel demolishes buildings at evacuated West Bank outpost
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JERUSALEM — Israel says it's started demolishing buildings at a West Bank settlement outpost evacuated last week amid clashes between settlers and security forces.

Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says officers are securing Amona to "prevent incidents" on Monday.

Israel's Supreme Court later ruled in 2014 that Amona was built on private Palestinian land and must be dismantled.

Settlers resisted the evacuation and clashed with police enforcing the law. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later announced a new settlement would be established — the first in two decades — to make up for Amona.

Most of the international community views settlements as illegal and a hindrance to a two-state solution to the conflict.

The Trump administration is perceived as sympathetic to settlements, an issue that caused friction between Netanyahu and former President Barack Obama.

The Associated Press