Amona (Hebrew: עמונה‎) is a communal settlement and Israeli settlement in the central West Bank's southern Samaria region, on a hill overlooking Ofra. Located within the municipal boundaries of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, the village was founded in 1997 on a barren hilltop and inhabited by young people from Ofra. Hebrew redirects here. ... A communal settlement in Israel is type of settlement that in contrast to a Kibbutz or a Moshav involves no economic cooperation between the residents. ... Map of Israeli settlements (magenta) in the West Bank. ... “Shomron” redirects here. ... Ofra (Hebrew: עפרה) is an Israeli settlement located north-east of Jerusalem in the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. ... The Matte Binyamin Regional Council (Hebrew:מועצה אזורית מטה בנימין) is a regional council in the southern Samarian hills, or rather, the southern part of the northern area of the West Bank. ...

By late 2005 there were some thirty families living in Amona, usually categorized as an outpost since it has never been fully approved by the Israeli government, even though several separate government ministries have contributed to its growth. Its name is derived from the Book of Joshua 18:24, where it is named Kfar HaAmmonai, literally, Village of the Amonites. Outpost may mean: a trading post is a place for trading goods, typically in a remote wilderness area Outpost (computer game) outpost (chess) Outpost. ... The Book of Joshua (Hebrew: Sefer Yhoshua ספר יהושע) is the sixth book in both the Hebrew Tanakh and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Ammon or Ammonites (עַמּוֹן People, Standard Hebrew ʻAmmon, Tiberian Hebrew ʻAmmôn), also referred to in the Bible as the children of Ammon, were a people living east of the Jordan river who along with the Moabites traced their origin to Lot, the nephew of the patriarch Abraham, and who were...

Confrontation

In 2005, the Amana settlement organisation completed the construction of nine permanent homes for some of the families. In response to this, the Peace Now movement petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court, demanding that the houses be demolished since they were allegedly built on Palestinian land. The Attorney General’s office then gave the orders to destroy the buildings. At approximately 3:00 AM on February 1, 2006, a petition was successfully filed with the Supreme Court to delay the demolition until a special hearing at around 8:00 AM. The Supreme Court heard the case, requested time to consider the situation, and issued a 2-1 verdict to go ahead and destroy the nine homes. Categories: Hebrew Bible/Tanakh-related stubs | Hebrew Bible/Tanakh places ... Peace Now (Hebrew: שלום עכשיו - Shalom Achshav) is an extra-parliamental political movement in Israel, with the agenda of swaying popular opinion and convincing the Israeli government of the need and possibility for achieving a just peace and an historic conciliation with the Palestinian people and neighboring Arab countries; this in exchange... The Supreme Court (Hebrew: בית המשפט העליון, Beit Hamishpat Haelyon ) is at the head of the court system in the State of Israel. ... The term Palestinian has other usages, for which see definitions of Palestinian. ... The Attorney General of Israel (Hebrew: , HaYoetz HaMishpati LaMemshala, lit. ... is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Ten thousand Israeli Police, Israeli Border Police, and IDF soldiers appeared in Amona to carry out the demolition and to secure the troops involved in the operation. They faced an estimated 4,000 Israeli protesters, one thousand actively protesting inside and around the houses, and another few thousand in the surrounding area. The protesters mostly consisted of youths from across the country, but especially from nearby settlements and schools, some of which had fortified themselves inside the homes and on the roofs in an effort to block, delay, or protest the order being carried out. The violent clashes that ensued surpassed any previous clashes between the security forces of the State of Israel and Jewish civilians, including the 2005 unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip and destruction of the Gush Katif settlements. Israeli Police logo The Israeli police (משטרת ישראל) is a civilian force in the State of Israel. ... Emblem of the IDF The Israel Defense Forces are part of the Israeli Security Forces. ... Israels unilateral disengagement plan (Hebrew: תוכנית ההתנתקות Tokhnit HaHitnatkut or תכנית ההינתקות Tokhnit HaHinatkut in the Disengagement Plan Implementation Law), also known as the Disengagement plan, Gaza Pull-Out plan, and Hitnatkut) was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government and enacted in August 2005, to remove all... Homes alongside a sand dune in Neve Dekalim. ...

Demonstrators sat in front of the homes linking arms and legs after the roofs and rooms inside the homes were filled. According to the demonstrators and confirmed by video, they were beaten repeatedly over the head and body with clubs by Israeli security forces, and some were trampled by riot horses specially trained and imported from Germany (These horses are trained out of their natural fear of running into crowds). Water, rocks, sand, paint, and pieces of twisted metal were concurrently thrown on the security forces from the roof. Next, Israeli police special forces officers were raised to the roofs, where they continued striking the protesters with their clubs and fists as well as kicking them. After Home Front Command disaster rescue units breached the barricaded houses, Riot police entered the houses and forcefully removed the protesters sitting inside, videos documenting extreme violence employed against passive protesters sitting on the floor in typical non-violent civil disobedience style. Numerous reports emerged later of girls who suffered various forms of verbal and physical abuse from the police while being removed from the houses. After a few hours the houses were destroyed. Home Front Command logo The Israeli Home Front Command is a relatively recent Israel Defense Forces regional command, created in February 1992 following the Gulf War, which was the first war since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War where the Home Front faced a significant threat. ... The Yassam (Hebrew: ) is the Israeli Special Patrol Unit (Hebrew: ), a police unit dedicated to continuou security, riot and crowd control and other special operations. ...

Over 300 people were injured, the majority of them protesters. Among the injured were three Knesset Members: Effi Eitam was hospitalized after being trampled by a horse, Arie Eldad suffered a broken arm; and Nissan Slomianski. In addition to injuries that were treated on-site, buses, Army Humveess and CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters were needed to evacuate the injured to hospitals for the more serious injuries, many of them head-wounds, some requiring immediate surgery. Ephraim (Efi, Effie) Eitam (Fein) אפי איתם is an Israeli religious Zionist politician. ... Prof. ... This article refers to the Military HMMWV, not the civilian Hummer sold by General Motors General Characteristics (Humvee) Manufacturer: AM General Length: 4. ... The CH-53 Sea Stallion is the most common name for the Sikorsky S-65 family of heavy-lift transport helicopters. ...

In March 2006, the Knesset parliamentary inquiry into the events at Amona determined that the police had employed excessive brutality, striking protesters with clubs and charging them with horses. Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra was criticised for preventing police commanders from testifying at the hearings. The committee also found contradictions in the testimonies of the Army Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and the Internal Security Minister. Despite these findings, no resignations followed. In May 2006 Israeli President Moshe Katsav met with some of the protesters injured at Amona and stated that he would ask for a renewal of the investigation, a renewal that has yet to occur. Type Unicameral Speaker of the Knesset Dalia Itzik, Kadima since May 4, 2006 Deputy Speaker Majalli Wahabi, Kadima since May 4, 2006 Members 120 Political groups Kadima Labour-Meimad Shas Likud Last elections March 28, 2006 Meeting place Knesset, Jerusalem, Israel Web site www. ... Gideon Ezra (born June 30, 1937) is a member of the Israeli Knesset and is a minister in the government. ... Insignia of the Rav Aluf The Ramatkal (Hebrew: רמטכל, abbr. ...   (Hebrew: ) (born August 7, 1948 in Tel Aviv, Israel) is an Israeli Air Force Lt. ... The President of the State of Israel (‎, Nesi HaMedina, lit. ... Moshe Katsav (Hebrew: , originally Mussa Ghassäb Persian: ; born December 5, 1945) is the eighth and current President of Israel (since 2000). ...

Many on both the left and the right are warning of the danger of repetitions of the tragedy of Amona in case the Realignment plan of evicting the West Bank will be put into action. The realignment plan (Hebrew: ) (originally known as the convergence plan) is a plan that was formulated and introduced to the Israeli public by prime minister Ehud Olmert, in a number of media interviews during the election campaign for the 17th Knesset in 2006. ...

External links

• A video montage of the Amona expulsion
• Another video montage of the Amona expulsion, this one slightly older (downloadable, link on the page)
• A collection of videos of the Amona expulsion and demolition of the 9 houses
• A large collection of photos of the Amona expulsion
• Were settler girls sexually assaulted?
• Extensive collection of video and photo links as well as interviews
• Photo Essay: 100,000 Protest Amona Police Brutality
• Amona Website