Livni briefed on West Bank operations ahead of Bush visit

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Monday that Israel would enforce the law in regards to the illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank.

"This is first and foremost a matter between the State and

its citizens, long before it is dealt with opposite foreign bodies," said Livni, vowing that Israel was sincere in its stated intentions to work against illegal construction.

Livni was briefed on the current situation with the outposts as part of an extensive survey of the region ahead of US President George W. Bush's visit to Israel later this week.

The minister was briefed by Major General Gadi Shamni, head of the IDF Central Command and Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai, head of the Civil Administration and traveled to checkpoints near Nablus and Jerusalem. Livni also surveyed the region from the air in a helicopter ride.

Livni in the field (Photo: Moshe Milner) 

Brig. Gen. Mordechai said there were currently 89 illegal outposts in the West Bank and told Livni of the settler's incessant attempts to establish new ones. It is an ongoing, constant struggle, said Mordechai, with security forces battling settlers almost every night. He also said that the army dismantles outposts immediately after they are established.

Livni is a member of a ministerial committee charged with reviewing the status of the illegal ouposts and the future of construction in the West Bank. Led by Vice Premier Haim Ramon, the committee is scheduled to complete its work by the end of January.

But Livni's travels on Monday were in preparation of her briefing of President Bush on Thursday, at a lengthy dinner held at Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Jerusalem residence.

The Americans demand Israel dismantle the illegal outposts and freeze construction in exiting settlements, including neighborhoods in Jerusalem on the other side of the Green Line.

As for the IDF's operations in the West Bank, Livni said that "as foreign minister I have already said in the past that Israel must fight for its security where it is essential to do so – even if the price is international condemnation – on the other hand, the security establishment understands that if it can ease restrictions on Palestinian civilian and financial operations without putting that security at risk – it must do so because this serves Israel's interests."