In an interview this evening (Monday), Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu attacked the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, for the decision to evacuate the A'ira Shahar outpost . "It's a disgrace, it's a shame. I don't know what happened (but) it's a huge mistake to sign this order. I guess what went through Bezalel's mind was to regulate the outpost in a legal way. Bezalel's heart is in the right place. After all, this is a state governed by law" said Eliyahu. Earlier, a member of Minister Eliyahu's Otzma Yehudit party, MK Limor Sohn Har-Melekh also attacked the government's actions . "I left A'ira Shahar, the heart hurts. Mothers and children next to the rubble of their homes, difficult scenes when across the way are palaces belonging to the Arabs who build and plant millions of trees to establish facts on the ground. We've lost it; we no longer remember who our people are and what we're fighting for," Son Har-Melech said in an interview with Kol Berama radio. "The left succeeded in its evil work and caused us in the settlement movement to subconsciously think that there are places that aren't ours, the truth is that everything belongs to us. I am the only MK who came here. We see that the Defense Minister and the Command Chief adopted this approach. People are afraid to speak their truths," she added. This is the first evacuation held in the town of Shahar since the establishment of the right-wing government about eight months ago, and one of the largest held in recent times. According to the coalition agreement, Jewish homes can only be evacuated under with the approval of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, with the exception of cases involving an urgent security need or new construction - which are under the authority of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. A large force of Border Police and IDF Civil Administration personnel raided A'ira Shahar this morning. Many residents from surrounding communities arrived at the scene to protest the demolition. Residents of the outpost criticized the destruction: "The right-wing government is continuing Gantz and Lapid's line of harming Jewish settlement and destroying buildings. It's much worse since this comes a week after a blood libel against brave settlers who defended themselves. After the lies of the IDF Spokesperson, who adopted the deceitful Arab narrative regarding the Burqa incident, were exposed, they are now coming for revenge. "Now that the murder accusation that they're trying to stick on the settlers is falling apart, they decided to turn to revenge by destroying the settlements. During the eviction, houses belonging to families with children are being destroyed, houses that have been on the hill for over half a year, that fall under Minister Bezalel Smotrich's responsibility, and he has to authorize their destruction. It's shocking that Smotrich decided to fight the settlements."
