Tel Aviv. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the dismantling of unauthorised settler outposts in the West Bank, two people familiar with the matter said on Sunday, amid pressure from the United States to tackle settler violence against Palestinians.
The order applies to outposts established without official authorisation from the Israeli state, the sources said. Such outposts typically consist of prefabricated caravans housing a small number of settlers. Israeli authorities have periodically demolished some structures while formally recognising others, allowing them to receive government funding.
It was not immediately clear when the operation would begin.
The United Nations and most governments consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law and regard the territory as occupied. Israel disputes this position, saying the territory is disputed rather than occupied.
US presses Israel over settler violence
The sources said Netanyahu issued the order in response to pressure from the United States, Israel's closest ally.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday described violent settlers as terrorists and called for severe consequences against those responsible. He made the remarks after meeting Palestinian Americans in a West Bank town.
Israeli website Ynet earlier reported that the order targeted about 100 outposts across the West Bank.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office and the military, which would normally be involved in removing outposts, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, speaking at a conference in Jerusalem about the Ynet report, said Netanyahu had ordered the eviction of sites built in Areas A and B, parts of the West Bank where most Palestinians live.
Under the Oslo Accords, interim peace agreements reached between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in the 1990s, the West Bank was divided into three areas: A, B and C.
Mr Smotrich, a settler who has overseen settlement housing projects and formally recognised homes built illegally, said he disagreed with Netanyahu's decision but noted that the government had made significant progress in expanding settlements in Area C.
Hundreds of outposts
There are 340 outposts and 146 settlements formally recognised by the Israeli government in the West Bank, according to Peace Now, an Israeli organisation critical of settlement expansion that advocates a two-state solution.
Last month, Israeli settlers besieged Palestinian homes in a nearby village, including one owned by a Palestinian American, before the military removed them from the area. Residents said they had continued to face harassment and intimidation from settlers.
The Israeli government has condemned settler violence, but perpetrators are rarely arrested and even less frequently prosecuted.
On Saturday, Ambassador Huckabee said it was in Israel's own interest to act against settlers involved in what he described as “criminal behaviour and terrorism”.
