Government forces were busy late Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, as they demolished three of the 11 newly-built outposts established earlier in the week by the Youth for Israel movement as a response to American attempts to pressure the Israeli government into freezing construction in Judea and Samaria. Mitzpe Avichai, located near Hevron, was destroyed Tuesday night. Earlier that day, some 200 people attended a ceremony at the site to officially launch the outpost, which activists vowed to rebuild immediately on Wednesday. Security forces also destroyed the Tzurya outpost near Avnei Hefetz, and knocked down the structure built by activists at Inbalim near Ma’ale Michmas. Both were demolished Wednesday morning. "Operation 11," as it was dubbed by the Youth for Israel movement, was named in honor of the 11 communities built overnight in the Negev in 1946, during the time of the British Mandate. The objective was to counter an international plan to leave the Negev out of the future Jewish State because of its paucity of Jews. The first outpost destroyed this week was Netzer, situated on a hilltop between the veteran community of Alon Shvut and the burgeoning city of Efrat, both located in Gush Etzion, minutes from Jerusalem. The structure there was knocked down within hours. Activists planned to rebuild that outpost as well. Other "Operation 11" outposts that still remain standing include: * Givat Egoz, near Neriya * Oz Yonaton, near Kochav Yaakov * Nofei Yarden, near Shilo * Reches Sela, south of Shechem Activists had finished construction of the 11 outposts just in time for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's meeting Tuesday with U.S. special Middle East envoy George Mitchell. Mitchell is leading a cadre of high-level American officials who are bent on pressuring Israel into freezing all construction in Judea and Samaria, as well as all parts of Jerusalem restored to the capital in the 1967 Six Day War, including construction within the legal boundaries of existing neighborhoods and communities.
