Illegal outpost set up near scene of deadly West Bank terror shooting

An illegal West Bank outpost is set up just several kilometers across from the Eli settlement, the scene of Tuesday’s terror attack in which four Israelis were killed.

Photos provided by Peace Now show five buildings made of prefabricated metal walls erected at the site, just outside the Maale Levona settlement in the northern West Bank on the other side of Route 60 from Eli.

Also visible are heavy earth-moving bulldozers and excavator drill machinery, as well as a newly dug access path to the site which is yet to be paved.

The IDF, Defense Ministry, and Civil Administration have not immediately responded to a request for comment as to how such a complex, illegal construction operation was carried out and whether the site would be evacuated. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is also a minister in the Defense Ministry, similarly has yet to respond.

Peace Now condemns the development, accusing those behind the construction of using Tuesday’s terror attack as cover for setting up new settlements.

“The settler terror is dancing on blood, cynically exploiting the terrible terror attack, and continuing to establish facts on the ground. We will all pay the price of the failure to deal with this and the continuation of the bloody cycle,” says Peace Now.

“The security forces must dismantle the outpost, evacuate the settlers who went to Evyatar, and deal with Jewish terrorism with a heavy hand when it rears its head,” the organization adds in reference to the resettlement of the illegal Evyatar outpost on Tuesday night and the riots and arson committed by settlers in the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya yesterday.