Israeli police evict settlers in the Netiv Ha'avot neighbourhood of the Elazar settlement, south of Jerusalem on June 12, 2018. (AFP photo)
JERUSALEM, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Clashes between Israeli settlers and police erupted on Tuesday when the forces started evicting settlers from 15 homes that were built illegally on privately-owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.
The eviction in the outpost of Netiv Ha'avot came after the Supreme Court ruled that the homes will be demolished. They climbed rooftops and clashed with the police.
Hundreds of pro-settlement youths rallied in the area to resist the eviction.
The protest also spilled over to Jerusalem, where demonstrators burnt tires and briefly blocked the main entrance to the city, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said in a statement.
Under international law, all of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, are illegal.
However, Israel charges that the settlements, home to some 500,000 Israelis who live in heavily guarded communities among about 2.5 million Palestinians, are legal. Outposts like Netiv Ha'avot are settlements built without official permits from the Israeli authorities and are deemed illegal also under Israeli law.
According to the Supreme Court ruling, all of the homes of Netiv Ha'avot were built without official permits. However, the government said it will retroactively legalize the outpost after the 15 homes constructed illegally on private Palestinian land would be evicted.