West Bank settlers protest eviction plan

JERUSALEM, June 4 (UPI) -- Hundreds of settlers began marching from a West Bank outpost to Jerusalem Monday to protest demolition of structures that are home to about 30 families.

Government plans, mandated last month by the High Court of Justice, call for demolition of the five apartment buildings in the Ulpana outpost by July 1, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The High Court said the homes were built without permits on private Palestinian property.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has presented a plan calling for relocating the homes to a military zone several hundred yards away, within the Beit El settlement limits, Ynetnews.com reported.

Netanyahu has thus far refused to back two bills -- supported by right-wing activists -- that would retroactively legalize unauthorized West Bank Jewish construction.

"We demand that the prime minister put a stop to the [political] spins devised at the expense of the neighborhood. We refused to be evicted," Ulpana resident Yoel Fatal told Ynetnews. "We are people, not puppets."

Netanyahu said he had spoken to Likud ministers Sunday about relocating the Ulpana residents in Beit El settlement.

The prime minister said he was awaiting a response from Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, who is to look into the legality of the plan and respond to Netanyahu in the next few days.

Netanyahu told ministers the government wants to uphold the law while defending and strengthening settlements.