'Welcome to Kibbutz Givat Menachem'
New outpost calls itself a 'kibbutz'
Settlers say name marks 'discrimination' state practices by evacuating outposts but not kibbutzim
A new outpost in the West Bank is calling itself Kibbutz Givat Menachem despite its illegal status, the Civil Administration said Sunday, adding that it was the second illegal community to adopt the term 'kibbutz'.
Settlers residing in the outpost say the name was meant to "mark the discrimination" practiced by the state when it evacuates outposts but not kibbutzim.
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The new community has set up a wooden structure and a 'hangout spot' meant for teens, presided over by a sign stating the outpost's chosen name.
Meanwhile left-wing organizations claim the structures were set up on a Palestinian grove belonging to residents of a nearby village.
"I don't know what the status of the land is there – there are a few trees – but it still doesn't mean this is Palestinian property," Itzik Shadmi, of the Binyamin Settlers' Committee, told Ynet.
"The trees are scattered and not in an organized formation, as one would plant them."
Shadmi says the name of the outpost is preceded by 'kibbutz' because "we have no doubts that the Civil Administration will try to dismantle this kibbutz".
"But there are dozens of kibbutzim which are definitely located on land that was once Arab, and they are not evacuated, justifiably," he argued.
The Civil Administration responded by stating, "This is a cynical attempt to build illegally by using the term 'kibbutz'. The illegal outpost, which has already been evacuated before, is currently under demolition orders and the enforcement of laws will continue according to prioritization."
