Israel Defense Forces troops and Civil Administration inspectors on Jan. 12 evacuated and demolished the Mitzpe Avichai outpost near Kiryat Arba — the third illegal West Bank outpost demolished in a week.

It was home to nine families, including 20 children, and residents have vowed to rebuild the outpost.

The troops evacuated the families from the outpost at about 3 a.m. before razing 10 structures, nine living quarters and a synagogue, according to reports. The outpost was established in 2007 in memory of Avichai Levy, who was killed by a Palestinian terrorist. It was the third time that the outpost has been razed.

Earlier last week, security forces demolished the Givat Arye and Gal Yossef outposts, both near Shiloh. All of the evacuations occurred without clashes, according to reports. — jta