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| Middle East |
| Jewish Settlers Set Up, Evacuate Outpost |
| 2003-06-15 |
| NEVE TSUF, West Bank (AP) - Jewish settlers occupied a remote site in the West Bank early Sunday, then left after the Israeli army promised that it would close two local roads to Palestinians, the settlers said. The brief encounter was just the latest in the cat-and-mouse game the Israeli army has been playing with the settlers. Under terms of a U.S.-backed peace plan, Israel is to remove all outposts erected since March 1, 2001. Last week soldiers tore down 10 tiny, empty hilltop outposts and three inhabited points, but settlers stopped removal of others by appealing to the Supreme Court. On Sunday, the high court delayed evacuation of an outpost next to the veteran settlement of Beit El, near the Palestinian town of Ramallah, court officials and settlers said, after an appeal by the settlers. Another hearing is set for Monday. Over the weekend, about 200 settlers occupied an area near the settlement of Neve Tsuf, near the town of Ramallah, to protest the shooting of two Jewish women by Palestinian However, after a few hours, soldiers arrived and the settlers agreed to leave. Soldiers loaded a cargo container, the main structure at the rump settlement, onto a large, red flatbed truck and hauled it away from the site, accompanied by armored jeeps. Settler spokesman Oded Stern said that in exchange, the army promised to ban Palestinians from stretches of road between the settlement of Neve Tsuf and Beit Tilo, a Palestinian village, and the village of Beit Rima and the Ateret settlement - a total of about 12 miles. The military refused to comment. Dror Etkes of the anti-settlement Peace Dror, didn't your own Supreme Court put a hold on this during an appeal? You gotta problem with democracy? You'll like living in Paleostine a lot less, promise. Settlers have pledged to put up new outposts to replace the ones removed by the army. The settlers and their backers believe Israeli must hold on to the entire West Bank for security and religious reasons. As part of the biblical Land of Israel, they say, the West Bank cannot be banned for Jewish settlement. Palestinians claim all of the West Bank - seized by Israel in 1967 along with the Gaza Strip - as part of a Hey Dror, if the Paleos get their way the only place you'll be allowed to live is about 40 miles west of Tel Aviv. Think about it. |
| Posted by:Steve White |