Israeli police pull down protest village on planned settlement

The 3,500-home settlement in the contested E1 area would drive a wedge between the eastern sector of the city and the West Bank.

Palestinian protesters pitched two dozen tents on the site marked for construction last week, but were dragged away by Israeli troops two days later.

On Wednesday, Israel's high court canceled an injunction that had barred police from removing the tents, but claimed that there would be further discussion on the protesters' right to be in the area.

Police and activists both confirmed the 24 tents had been dismantled and the site was empty.

The court ruling said that the risk of "public disorder" outweighed "arguments of the Palestinian petitioners concerning property rights."

Israel claimed it owned the land but local Palestinians were able to show their deeds.

The protesters had obtained a temporary Supreme Court injunction to keep them in the camp, but they were quickly evicted after a lower court ruled that it only applied to the tents and not the demonstrators.

On Tuesday, protesters attempted to return to the site, but were prevented by Israeli forces, who have declared the area a closed military zone.

Palestinian activists had set up the camp, which they dubbed Bab al-Shams, or Gate of the Sun in Arabic, in a bid to draw attention to continuing Israeli plans to build in the area.

The Palestinians say that settlement construction there would effectively cut the West Bank in two and prevent the creation of a viable Palestinian state.

The West Bank government announced the creation of a Bab al-Shams village council on Wednesday, giving the symbolic protest site councillors and a mayor.

Activists said a number of European towns had expressed a desire to twin with the new council in a bid to give international legitimacy to the village.