IDF To Dismantle Settler Outpost ‘Tel Aviv’

“This settlement has long attracted radicals, but we are prepared to deal with that,” said Egoz Battalion commander Major Aryush Itinmi.

Jaffa, March 21 – The Israel Defense Force announced this morning (Saturday) it had received approval from the Ministry of Defense to begin removing the structures and residents from Tel Aviv, a Jewish settler outpost north of the city of Jaffa.

Clashes have taken place frequently over the last fifteen years when IDF troops attempt to clear such outposts, as radical settlers resist those efforts. The relatively large number of settlers in Tel Aviv means a much more significant undertaking for the army, but in the aftermath of an election in which right-wing parties won a convincing victory, ministry officials judged that they could afford to proceed with the move with minimal political risk.

Like most settler outposts, Tel Aviv was given a name straight from the Bible. It has long been a thorn in the side of the government, attracting unpleasant characters and openly defying the cultural norms of the region. Settlers from Tel Aviv play an outsize role in national politics, a fact that breeds resentment of Tel Aviv and of the thousands of security personnel necessary to keep those settlers safe. The Ministry of Defense itself has long maintained a large facility in a centrally located part of the settlement, as an indication of just how much security attention Tel Aviv attracts.

The settlement has also been the scene of tragic violence. In 1995 Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated there, and Palestinian militants have made Tel Aviv a focus of attacks on civilians and soldiers, resulting in hundreds of deaths since its establishment.

Military officials harbor no illusions about the scope of the effort that will be necessary to dismantle Tel Aviv. “This settlement has long attracted radicals, but we are prepared to deal with that,” said Egoz Battalion commander Major Aryush Itinmi. “The chief challenges arise from the sheer numbers of settlers who have taken up residence there. Some have been there for several generations, and may not give up without serious resistance. The army’s experience with [the 2005 evacuation of Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip known as] Gush Katif provides an important model for the planning and implementation of this order.”

The initial draft of the Tel Aviv disengagement plan calls for a publicity effort to persuade Tel Aviv settlers to leave voluntarily, and not subject themselves to arrest or injury, as has occurred when other contested settlement outposts were removed. Though many settlers will certainly acquiesce at that stage, possibly hundreds of thousands may nevertheless choose to remain, either hoping to confront security forces directly and offer determined resistance, or simply that such a politically fraught operation will never get off the ground.

IDF commanders expect the fiercest resistance to come from the North Tel Aviv section where Tel Aviv University operates. Its campus is a hotbed of radicalism, and both Ministry and IDF officials are busy preparing detailed plans for dealing with those radicals. In addition to the threat of force, the IDF intends to make extensive use of public relations techniques and may even negotiate with University leaders.

The main argument in the IDF’s negotiation arsenal will likely be the invocation of the Gaza Disengagement of 2005, which many, including most Tel Aviv settlers, hailed at the time as a triumph of the rule of law.

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