NewsMine — war-on-terror — israel — negotiations — 2003-roadmap — settlements — Viewing Item

Settler outposts defy road map Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters10-27-034844.asp?reg=MIDEAST http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters10-27-034844.asp?reg=MIDEAST Israeli plans for settler outposts defy ''road map'' By Gwen Ackerman JERUSALEM, Oct. 27 — Israel said on Monday it planned to beef up security and education services in some Jewish settler outposts in the West Bank despite its pledge to dismantle them under a U.S.-backed peace ''road map.'' The Israeli settlement monitoring group Peace Now said the plans proved Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had lied when he promised Washington earlier this year that Israel would remove dozens of small, isolated outposts under the peace plan. The plans coincide with a decision by Israel's parliamentary finance committee to allot $29 million to Jewish settlements and communities along the boundary between Israel and the West Bank. ''Sharon promised to take down the outposts and has lied to the Israeli public and to the Palestinian partners,'' said Yariv Oppenheimer, Peace Now director, of the plans to give outposts additional services. ''The facts speak for themselves.'' The international community considers the nearly 150 settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as illegal under international law. Israel disputes this and accuses Palestinians of failing to meet their obligation under the ''road map'' to rein in militants. The Defence Ministry denied what the daily Yedioth Ahronoth said amounted to a granting of more permanent status to eight outposts receiving the new services. ''If the government decides that these people shouldn't be there, we will dismantle the outposts, but as long as they haven't decided... and there are people there, I must give them security,'' ministry settlement adviser Ron Shechner said. ''They need lighting and communications, there are some places that need a bit of fence and sometimes soldiers to protect them,'' Shechner told Israel Radio. ''We also need to make sure the children have a school.'' Oppenheimer said the measures would further entrench outposts that Israel had pledged to dismantle. ''Instead of dealing with the problem and evacuating the outposts, they are making the problem worse,'' he said. Israel removed several mostly uninhabited West Bank outposts earlier this year but Peace Now has said that new outposts, usually made up of small clusters of caravans, have since gone up in their place. With the road map on hold amid tit-for-tat violence, there have been no further efforts to remove outposts, which are estimated to number about 50 and were built without government permission unlike the many more permanent settlements. The peace plan also calls on Israel to halt construction on larger settlements established on occupied land seized in the 1967 Middle East war, and requires Palestinians to rein in militants spearheading a three-year uprising for independence. Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

Jewish settlers vow defend outposts Most settlers would leave for peace Settler outposts defy road map Settlers shocked removing outposts Settlers would leave if paid { July 23 2003 } Sharon backs 95m settlers plan Sharon rules out dismantling settlements { May 13 2003 } Sharon says keep building outposts Sharon says occupation must end { May 27 2003 } Files Listed: 9

Correction/submissions

CIA FOIA Archive

National Security Archives

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.