Israel removes activists from abandoned West Bank village after weeklong protest
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The Israeli military has removed Palestinian activists protesting at a deserted village in the West Bank whose final status is a central issue in U.S.-mediated peace talks with Israel.
Hundreds of activists had been demonstrating for a week at the site of Ein Hijleh, a Palestinian village in the Jordan Valley abandoned after Israel captured the land from Jordan in the 1967 war.
Abdallah Abu Rahmeh, a protest organizer, said soldiers raided the site early Friday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The military said troops had called on the activists to leave the area and evacuated them after they refused.
The fate of the strategic Jordan Valley is a central issue in peace talks. Israel wants to keep a security presence there after a deal is reached, citing security concerns. Palestinians reject that.