Official: We're facing unprecedented enforcement challenge in West Bank
Addressing settler activities against construction freeze orders, outgoing coordinator of government activities in the territories says authorities prepared for 'deterioration or status quo'
Major-General (Res.) Amos Gilad, outgoing coordinator of government activities in the territories said Sunday that the military is "facing an unprecedented enforcement challenge in the West Bank."
Gilad was speaking at the ceremony inducting Major-General Eitan Dangot, the new coordinator of government activities in the territories.
Addressing the settlers' campaign against the cabinet's decision to halt construction in the West Bank for a period of 10-months in an effort to jumpstart the peace talks with the Palestinians, Gilad said, "The Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria (whose inspectors hand out the freeze orders) has established relations that have maintained calm and allow extensive military and political leeway in every possible scenario – be it deterioration or status quo.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during the ceremony, "In light of the political echelon's decision, the Civil Administration and the supervising authorities are facing difficult civil and security-related challenges."
After several days of protests and obstructions, Civil Administration building inspectors and the security forces accompanying them found some sophisticated ways to enter the West Bank settlement of Kedumim on Sunday morning.
The residents complained that the forces used violence against the local council head and his deputy and forcibly removed young girls from the road.
Later Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the settlement construction freeze is a temporary move which does not depend on the resumption of peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
"Even if Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) will come in eight months and say, 'Peace now,' we will begin building as we did before. The cabinet decision is time-limited," the prime minister said.
