Israeli forces 'evict protest village' near Bethlehem

Israeli forces evicted a protest village near the Kfar Etzion settlement compound south of Bethlehem on Saturday, a local committee said. The Popular Struggle Committee Against the Settlements and the Wall said its activists pitched tents on land belonging to the Abu Ayyash family. Four hours later, the Israeli army arrived with an order to evict the protesters, the committee said. The committee said the action sent a message to the Israeli government that Israeli settlements would eventually vanish. It said Palestinian were entrenched in their land, and that they would dictate the next stage in peace talks, not the negotiators. An Israeli military spokesman told Ma'an that Israeli forces dispersed a gathering of 20 to 30 Palestinians in Umm Salamuna. "After a while they left," he said, adding that no riot dispersal means were used.