According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Israel announced Tuesday that it plans to evacuate all 23 unauthorized settler outposts slated for evacuation in the West Bank in a single day. The recent move meets a March 2001 pledge given to former US President George W. Bush.
No date of removal has been set yet, though the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Border Police and police held a military exercise last week in preparation for the evacuation.
According to Haaretz, the IDF was preparing to “forcibly evacuate 23 illegal outposts in one day. The plan was formulated by the security establishment, with the knowledge of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi has said that he prefers the IDF not lead settlement evacuation and that instead police units specializing in crowd control should undertake the operations. Defense Minster Ehud Barak also said evacuations should be a matter of law enforcement.
Ariel Goldring
