Deal: Outpost evacuation in return for settlements

Defense Ministry offered settlers to evacuate 18 illegal outposts in coming months, in exchange for new housing units in settlement blocs, Ynet learns. Yesha Council denies report

Roni Sofer |Published: 03.09.08 , 13:32

The Defense Ministry recently offered settler leaders to evacuate illegal outposts in exchange for resuming the construction works in the settlement blocs.

Ynet has learned that as part of the deal, the State will evacuate in the coming months 18 of the 24 illegal outposts, which were built after 2001. in return, new housing units will be built in Gush Etzion, Maaleh Adumim, Givat Ze'ev, Ariel, Elkana and Efrat.

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Sources at Defense Minister Ehud Barak's office said that an agreement on the details of the plan was reached in a meeting held two weeks ago with representatives of the Yesha Council. The meeting was attended by Barak, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, Defense Ministry Director-General Pinchas Buchris, his deputy Victor Bar-Gil, the minister's assistant for settlement matters Eitan Broshi, and legal advisors.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recently announced that he was freezing the construction beyond the Green Line, including in the large settlement blocs.

Any construction, according to the new order, is subject to the prime minister and defense minister's approval, according to the law.

The Defense Ministry sought to examine ways to strengthen the large settlement blocs without harming the government's talks with the Palestinians and without violating Isral's commitments during the Annapolis conference and in previous agreements.

The discussion was held following a series of talks with the settlers' representatives, which began before US President George W. Bush's visit to Israel. As part of the discussions, the Yesha Council demanded that the settlement blocs be reinforced. The State demanded that the outposts – including Migron, which it recently promised the High Court to evacuate – would be cleared without violence.

"It is important to work according to a policy which dictates, first and foremost, a strengthening and reinforcement of the settlement blocs, which will clearly be part of any future agreement," Barak told the meeting attendees.

'No one dreams of evacuating outposts'

A Defense Ministry official clarified, "The defense minister will continue to work from the other side of the equation to willingly evacuate those who do not live in the large settlement blocs, and to evacuate the illegal outposts Israel promised to evacuate. There is an ongoing dialogue with the Yesha Council about these outposts."

The details on the resumed construction in the settlement blocs were not published during US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's recent visit to the region. Now, following the report, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will be forced to explain them during her visit to Washington, scheduled to begin Monday.

The Yesha Council denied that any agreement had been reached on the issue. "Nothing of this kind happened. No one dreams of evacuating outposts," Yesha Council Chairman Danny Dayan told Ynet.

According to Dayan, "This may be what the Defense Ministry wants, but we will definitely not accept such a stance in exchange for building in the settlement blocs.

"The only true thing is that we are holding talks with the Defense Ministry on a comprehensive agreement on the outpost issue, according to which the outposts on the State's land will stay put.

"In the places were there are problems of rights on the land, we will be able to discuss moving them to other places."

800 new units in Givat Ze'ev

Housing and Construction Minister Ze'ev Boim on Sunday instructed his office to continue construction in the Agan Haeilot neighborhood in Givat Ze'ev, beyond the Green Line.

Sources at the minister's office clarified that the construction would take place in the "Jerusalem vicinity", and that the decision was made following a series of consultations with the prime minister.

Construction in the neighborhood was halted by contractors following the eruption of the second intifada. The contractors recently began resuming the works following the relative calm and the increasing demand for apartments in Jerusalem and its vicinity. In total, 800 new housing units will be built – more than the original plan.

"Resuming the construction in Agan Haeilot is important news," said Boim. "The addition of hundreds of housing units is part of a policy aimed at meeting the high demands and the need to balance and maintain a reasonable price level, while meeting Jerusalem's demographic needs.

"I plan to continue implementing this policy in order to strengthen Jerusalem and its surroundings," he added.

Later on Sunday it was reported that Boim announced plans to build 750 new homes in a Jewish neighborhood of disputed east Jerusalem.

He said the construction in Pisgat Zeev would be in addition to the planned expansion of Givat Zeev.

"There are 750 housing units about to issued for bids (from contractors) for Pisgat Zeev," Boim said in a radio interview. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and immediately annexed the area. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state and oppose all Israeli construction there.