Rightist protesters scuffled with Israeli police carrying out a court order to evict settlers from an illegal outpost in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, hours after the government announced more construction in larger settlements.

Around 330 Israeli settlers live in Amona, the largest of scores of outposts built in the West Bank without official authorization. The Supreme Court ruled in November, after a lengthy legal battle, that settlers had to leave Amona because their homes were built on privately-owned Palestinian land.

Ronen Zvulun / Reuters Protesters stand next to fire at the entrance to the Israeli settler outpost of Amona in the occupied West Bank early morning February 1, 2017.

With no weapons visible, but wearing backpacks, hundreds of police walked past burning tyres and pushed back against dozens of nationalist Israeli youths who flocked to Amona in support of the settlers.

Several protesters were detained by police during the scuffles and there were a few instances of stone-throwing. A police spokesmen said at least 10 officers were injured slightly by rocks and caustic liquid thrown at them.

Ronen Zvulun / Reuters Israeli police remove a pro-settlement activist during an operation by Israeli forces to evict settlers from the illegal outpost of Amona in the occupied West Bank February 1, 2017.

“A Jew doesn’t evict a Jew!” the youngsters chanted.

The Amona settlers themselves stayed largely put inside their homes after erecting makeshift barriers in front of their doors and vowing passive resistance to eviction.

“We won’t leave our homes on our own. Pull us out, and we’ll go,” one settler told reporters. “It is a black day for Zionism.”

On a nearby hilltop, Issa Zayed, a Palestinian who said he was one of the owners of the land on which Amona was built, watched the scene through binoculars. “With God’s help, it will be evacuated and our land will return to us,” he said.

Ronen Zvulun / Reuters Siblings from the Yahav family react as policemen enter their home during an operation by Israeli forces to evict settlers from the illegal outpost of Amona in the occupied West Bank February 1, 2017.

NEW SETTLER HOMES

Earlier, Israel announced plans for 3,000 more settlement homes in the West Bank, the third such declaration in 11 days since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. Trump, a Republican, has signaled he could be more accommodating toward such projects than his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama.

An announcement a week ago by Israel that it would build some 2,500 more dwellings in the West Bank, territory captured in a 1967 Middle East war and where Palestinians now seek statehood, drew rebukes from the Palestinians and the European Union. It followed approval a few days before of over 560 new homes in East Jerusalem, also taken by Israel in 1967.

THOMAS COEX via Getty Images Hardline Jewish settlers, supporters of the Amona outpost, northeast of Ramallah, are moved away by Israeli security forces at the wildcat settlement on February 1, 2017.

“The decision ... will place obstacles in the path of any effort to start a peace process that will lead to security and peace,” said Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for an independent state, with its capital in East Jerusalem. Israeli troops and settlers withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

In 2006 Amona saw a violent partial eviction, with nine shacks torn down by authorities. Police were confronted by thousands of settlers and more than 200 people were injured.

Most countries consider all Israeli settlements to be illegal. Israel disagrees, citing historical and political links to the land - which the Palestinians also assert - as well as security interests.

The Amona issue had caused tensions within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government. But they eased after he got behind a law proposed by the Jewish Home party, a far-right political ally, to retroactively legalize dozens of outposts. This would not apply to Amona because of the existing court decision.

“We have lost the battle over Amona but we are winning the campaign for the Land of Israel,” cabinet minister and Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett tweeted after the evacuation began.

The legislation is expected to be passed in parliament next week. It is opposed, however, by Israel’s attorney-general and legal experts predict it eventually would be overturned in court.

(Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

See more photos from Amona below:

Baz Ratner / Reuters A family member of an Israeli settler family pushes a stroller past Israeli policemen during an eviction of residents from the Israeli settler outpost of Amona in the occupied West Bank February 1, 2017.

Baz Ratner / Reuters Protesters stand atop a roof as a shed burns during an eviction by Israeli police of residents from the Israeli settler outpost of Amona.

Ronen Zvulun / Reuters An Israeli border policeman scuffles with a pro-settlement activist.

Ronen Zvulun / Reuters Pro-settlement activists scuffle with Israeli police.

THOMAS COEX via Getty Images Hardline Jewish settlers, supporters of the Amona outpost, northeast of Ramallah, barricade themselves inside a building as security forces prepare to evict them from a building.

Baz Ratner / Reuters Israeli policemen stand next to a burning tyre on a road near the entrance to the Israeli settler outpost of Amona.

JACK GUEZ via Getty Images An Israeli settler is evicted by security forces at the Amona outpost.

Ronen Zvulun / Reuters Pro-settlement activists scuffle with Israeli police.

Baz Ratner / Reuters An Israeli settler family leave during an eviction by Israeli police.