MIDDLE EAST:Both Israeli and Palestinian leaders are facing stern tests of their stated resolve to implement the "road map" peace plan, with the Israeli army beginning the dismantling of illegal settler outposts in the West Bank yesterday, and Palestinian Prime Minister, Mr Mahmoud Abbas, again having his call for militant groups to resume ceasefire talks rejected by Hamas. Peter Hirschberg reports from Jerusalem
Troops yesterday afternoon began dismantling the uninhabited outpost of Neve Erez South, east of Ramallah, destroying two empty trailers at the site. Soldiers then took down a water tower at Amona, the only structure at the outpost, located north of Ramallah. Several dozen settlers flocked to Amona in a bid to frustrate the army.
Some of the hilltop outposts are inhabited, but many are empty, often consisting only of a water tower and a caravan, and are part of an effort by settlers to expand their control of West Bank land. The army was expected to evacuate several more outposts during the night.
By ordering the military to begin removing outposts, Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon was fulfilling one of Israel's obligations in the first phase of the road map, which stipulates that illegal outposts set up since the Israeli leader took office in March 2001 must be dismantled. The left-wing Peace Now group says 62 outposts have been set up in this period.
Shortly before the army moved in, Defence Minister Mr Shaul Mofaz told settler leaders that 15 outposts were slated for evacuation, four of them inhabited. Mr Sharon, however, has not said how many outposts he plans to dismantle and appears to be at odds with the Americans on this point.
Palestinian Cabinet Minister Mr Yasser Abed Rabbo dismissed the move, saying Mr Sharon was "playing a game of deception through the evacuation of some of the empty trailers in order to give legitimacy to the many settlements he established during his term in office".
Asked yesterday whether the evacuation of outposts was not a reward for Palestinian violence - five Israeli soldiers were killed Sunday in two separate attacks by Palestinian gunmen - Mr Sharon said: "If the terror continues, there will be no progress on the diplomatic front, but this has no connection to the issue of the outposts, which were never authorised by the government." But settler leaders, many of whom revere Mr Sharon for having led a massive settlement expansion program in the 1990s, yesterday decried his latest move and vowed to resist it.
Labelling the evacuation of the outposts as "surrender to terror", settler spokesman Mr Yehoshua Mor-Yosef said: "If we are evacuated, we'll return the night after and establish 10 new outposts." The settlers have played this type of cat-and-mouse game on the hilltops of the West Bank with previous governments, often reestablishing the outposts after they have been dismantled. Most settler leaders said yesterday, however, that while they would passively resist attempts to take down outposts, they would strongly oppose active confrontation with troops.
Mr Sharon's Palestinian counterpart, meanwhile, was yesterday dealing with his own political problems generated by the road map.
Mr Abbas, who has faced growing criticism from Palestinians who believe his speech at last week's summit in Aqaba was too conciliatory toward Israel, told a press conference in Ramallah that all his moves are coordinated with the Palestinian Authority President, Mr Yasser Arafat.
Mr Abbas, who called for an end to "the militarisation of the intifada" at the summit, did not balk in the face of a decision by Hamas, last Friday, to break off ceasefire talks over his Aqaba speech.
"Those who are not ready to engage in dialogue will have to bear the consequences," he said, in what some viewed as a veiled threat to militant groups.
However, the Palestinian Prime Minister emphasised that he would not risk a civil war by resorting to force to subdue militant groups.