Posted on 08/02/2003 1:40:45 PM PDT by yonif
Under intensifying pressure from the U.S., the Defense Ministry took an unprecedented step on Friday ordering the IDF to dismantle several populated illegal outpost settlements some of which have begun to establish permanent housing structures.
During his meetings last week in the White House, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon apparently pledged to the American Administration that he would dismantle an additional 12 outpost settlements.
Six outposts, varying in size from barren hills topped with a lone shipping container to mini-settlements with as many as 40 families living in semi-permanent or permanent homes, are slated for removal in the coming days and weeks. The IDF reported that four of the outposts are in the Ramallah area including Bruchim, Hill 802 , Givat Haroe and another outpost near Efrat. The two in the Gush Etzion area are reported to be Beit Ein B and Neve Daniel outpost.
However it may take weeks for the IDF and the government to push through legal appeals that will pave the way for the evacuation of the larger outposts like Bruchim Givat Haroe and Neve Daniel, each of which has at least ten families.
The Yesha Council of Settlements spokesman Yehoshua Mor Yosef slammed the decision, stating coolly that "order given to clear these settlements is not correct. There will not be an evacuation." He refused to elaborate.
Yesha also released a statement Saturday night charging that "The evacuation of settlements while the terrorists are rehabilitating the terrorist infrastructure and developing an improved version of the Kassam rocket is a prize for terror."
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz's spokesman Eli Kamir retorted that "any outpost that is considered unauthorized will be brought down."
All of the six outposts, according to the Defense Ministry, have already been dismantled since the most recent wave of outpost evacuations began in June 1st. The settlers have often changed the outposts names or moved them a short distance from the original plots. According to the Defense Ministry, the tactic is aimed at generating legal entanglements that make their removal politically and legally thorny for the government.
According to government sources the reestablishment of the outposts almost immediately following what the IDF calls their legal removal especially rankled Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz. The Defense Ministry says that 22 settlements have been dismantled since the government's decision to take down illegal outposts as a confidence building measure to the Palestinians.
While the security forces began the process for the evacuations on Friday and Saturday night, the IDF is barred from deploying forces on the Sabbath for operations that are not considered critical for the security of the state.
Yet the IDF has not completed the evacuation of the first round of settlements slated for removal. Legal wrangles and time-consuming appeals to the High Court Justice continue to stall the removal of such outposts as Beit El East among others.
Yet military sources expressed confidence that this latest round of evacuations would be speedier than the last. As of yet, said the source, none of the six outposts have appealed the decision in the High Court something that will undoubtedly facilitate the IDF's work.
Nevertheless, "even if they appeal to the High Court, it is just a matter of time before they [the outposts] come down. We are confident that the High Court will rule against them," he added.
Mor Yosef declined to say whether Yesha will appeal the evacuation orders before the High Court of Justice, repeating his earlier statement that the "order is not correct, and won't be carried through."
Earlier in the week the settlement watchdog Peace Now had maintained that the six outposts have never been evacuated, despite a contradictory declaration by the defense establishment.
It was unclear whether the Defense Ministry intended to clear the entirety of certain outposts like Givat Haroe and Bruchim. Bruchim the largest and most populated of the group was only populated about a year ago, yet since then has swelled to 40 families living in trailer homes. There are 16 unlived in permanent houses perched on a hillside about a kilometer away.
Similarly Givat Haroe which overlooks the strategic route 60, the major north-south axis of the West Bank, boasts 10 trailers and the foundations of an additional six permanent houses. The Neve Daniel also has 10 caravans and received electricity only last week.
Due to the sheer size of the outposts, Peace Now settlement watch director Dror Etkes doubted that the Defense Ministry intends to actually remove such established outposts. "They are toying with us and the Americans that's all. They'll probably remove a water tank or a shed and call it a day."
'And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border' Jeremiah 31:17
ISRAEL belongs to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. HE doesn't lie and if HE says something, HE means it. (Numbers 23:19)
I have never feared more for my nation than now. If we continue to push Israel into "peace for land", we will face the wrath of Almighty God.
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