Jerusalem, July 28: The Israeli army dismantled a settlement outpost overnight near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, military sources said today. The hilltop outpost consisted of four tents, and two settlers who resisted evacuation were apprehended by the police, the sources said. At the June 4 Aqaba Summit in Jordan, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promised to dismantle "unauthorised" outposts, but after an initial blaze of publicity the number of wildcat settlements has continued to increase. The international roadmap for peace calls for the more than 60 outposts built since March 2001 to be evacuated and for a complete freeze of settlement activity. The dismantling of the outpost near Kiryat Arba coincided with Sharon's arrival in Washington, for talks with US President George W. Bush.


Yesterday, Israel announced a string of conciliatory measures including the removal of several major checkpoints in the West Bank, thousands of new permits for Palestinian workers and the Cabinet's approval of the release of 100 jailed Islamists.


Bureau Report