Israeli security forces began to remove two Jewish settler outposts in the West Bank on Sunday shortly after Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer vowed to dismantle 10 of the rogue settlements by Monday.
"They are dismantling two outposts south of Hebron, one near the Beit Haggai settlement and a second near (the settlement of) Maaleh Hever," an Israeli security source said.
According to Reuters, the source said the removal of the outposts was apparently being done in cooperation with the Jewish settlers on the site. A settler spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
"As I said, by the first of the month (July), I announced that I expect 10 outposts will come down and by the 15th of the month more outposts will be removed," Ben-Eliezer told reporters on Sunday.
Israeli media said the two outposts had not been inhabited and that additional settlements, established without government permission, in the northern West Bank were also expected to be removed in the coming days.
Palestinians say the outposts often become footholds for permanent settlements, taking root on lands they seek for an independent state.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers dismantled a liaison office with the Palestinians for the Bethlehem region, ordering the staff out of their offices and locking it up, AFP reported.
Soldiers entered the building in Beit Jala where Israelis and Palestinians share liaison offices, ordered the Palestinian staff of about eight to 10 people out, locked the room and left with the keys, the report said.
Additionally, the Israeli side confiscated the furniture and file cabinets inside the office and removed two Palestinian flags that flew over the building, it added. The liaison offices were opened following the signature of Oslo Accords with the goal to coordinate between the Israeli army and Palestinian security services, which carried out joint patrols from the missions.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA, quoting an official Palestinian police statement, confirmed the report and said the Israelis "gave no reason" for this move.
The liaison offices were set up in the West Bank and Gaza Strip under the 1993 autonomy accords.
The Tel Aviv-based newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported on Sunday that plans to dismantle the last vestiges of security cooperation between the two sides showed that Israel's aim was to take sole responsibility for security in the Palestinian territories.
At a later state, Israel would also take charge of civilian administration affairs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, according to Yediot Aharonot. So far the Israeli defense ministry has ruled out such a development, which would amount to a return to full Israeli occupation. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
