Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered unauthorized Israeli settler outposts in the West Bank dismantled as Washington increases pressure on Israel to confront violence against Palestinians.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered unauthorized settler outposts in the West Bank dismantled following growing U.S. pressure on Israel to address attacks by violent settlers against Palestinians, according to two people familiar with the decision.
The directive applies to outposts established without formal Israeli government authorization, typically small communities consisting of caravans or other temporary structures. Israeli website Ynet reported that roughly 100 outposts could be targeted, although it was not immediately clear when removals would begin. Israel has demolished unauthorized outposts in the past while retroactively recognizing others and making them eligible for government services and funding.
The order follows increasingly forceful criticism from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who visited the Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya on Saturday and called for “severe consequences” for settlers responsible for violence. Huckabee said Israel has a responsibility to protect Palestinians and described violent settlers as terrorists, saying it was also in Israel’s interest to act against what he characterized as a relatively small group responsible for the attacks.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler and prominent supporter of settlement expansion, said Netanyahu had issued “an instruction to evict places built in Areas A and B,” referring to portions of the West Bank where most Palestinians live under arrangements established by the Oslo Accords. Smotrich said he disagreed with the decision but argued that the government had nevertheless made major advances in expanding Israeli settlement activity in Area C, which remains under full Israeli civil and security control.
The West Bank was divided under the 1990s Oslo agreements into Areas A, B and C. Palestinians exercise varying degrees of civil authority in Areas A and B, while Israel maintains full control over Area C. 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 that characterization and describes the West Bank as disputed territory.
Peace Now, an Israeli organization opposed to settlement expansion, says there are approximately 340 unauthorized outposts and 146 government-recognized settlements across the West Bank. Netanyahu’s reported directive therefore would affect only a portion of the existing outposts and does not represent a broader order to dismantle officially recognized settlements.
The decision comes amid heightened attention to settler violence. Last month, settlers surrounded Palestinian homes in a West Bank village, including one belonging to a Palestinian American, before Israeli forces removed them from the area. Residents have said intimidation and harassment continued afterward. The Israeli government has condemned settler violence, although arrests and prosecutions have been relatively uncommon.
Netanyahu’s office and the Israeli military, which would normally be involved in carrying out removals, had not publicly detailed the order Sunday. The lack of a timetable also leaves uncertain how quickly the government intends to act and how many outposts will ultimately be dismantled.
The directive nonetheless represents a notable response to Washington’s increasingly public pressure. Huckabee said Saturday that Israel should impose consequences for attacks he described as “criminal behavior and terrorism,” putting the issue directly into the U.S.-Israeli relationship as Netanyahu’s government weighs how aggressively to enforce Israeli law against unauthorized settlement activity.
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