Israeli Defense Minister, Shaul Mofaz, offered the settlers to be moved to other outposts in exchange of agreeing to evacuate the “Ammouna” illegal settlement outpost, which is to be evacuated by a decision from the Israeli High Court.
Attorney Talia Sasson, who headed that Criminal Investigation Department at the Israeli General Prosecution Office, said in her report on illegal settlement outpost that the Ministry of Security and the Israeli army are bargaining the settlers in the illegal outpost in order to leave it in exchange of allowing them to construct other settlement outposts in different areas.
The report was conducted after the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, asked Sasson to prepare a report on the illegal outposts in the West Bank that should be evacuated.
The Israeli government declared its commitment evacuating illegal outposts in a massage sent to the US administration in 2004 in exchange for the letter of assurances President Bush sent to Sharon, in which Bush declared his support to the Israeli settlements on parts of Palestinian lands in the West Bank.
The letter came after the US president George Bush stated that some settlement blocks in the West Bank cannot be moved, and should remain under Israeli control under any future peace deal.
In a statement to Israel Radio on Monday morning , Sasson said that the attempts of the Israeli Defense Ministry to reach a deal with the settlers is rejected, saying that the issue of settlements is not a political issue but it is a matter of imposing law and order . “There is no excuse for delaying evacuating these settlements for ever”, she added.
Also, Sasson said that more than 105 outposts which Israel admits they were illegally constructed in the West Bank. The outposts do not include outposts which were constructed after approval from the government.
The Israeli Radio quoted a military source saying that the Israeli government will refrain from evacuating illegal outposts before the general elections which are scheduled forMarch 28, 2006, yet the government was committed in front of the High Court to evacuate the Ammouna outpost.
According to the report that was revealed by the Israeli online daily, Haaretz, June15, Settlement outposts were constructed totally on Palestinian private lands; 39 of them were built on a private land, and 26 were built on what is called State’s land and “disputed areas”.
The Sasson report revealed that the Ministry of Housing under the Likud, and Labor, assigned some 70 million shekels for infrastructure for 82 outposts, the most active period was during the time of the last Rabin government, before he was assassinated, the government in Netanyahu (1996-1999), and Sharon’s (2001-2004) first government.
In spite the Sharon’s government approved the recommendations in the Sasson report it did not provide any ministry with the need authorities to implement it.
The report indicated that 753 families and dozens of religious students in 16 outposts benefited from the funds transferred during Netanyahu’s ruling period in addition to 600 settlers in during Sharon’s ruling until June 2004 outposts were built.
Sasson also indicated that the funds allocated for a work plan submitted by the Israeli Ministry of Housing and Labor for the years 2000-2004 for the buildings and infrastructure are much more than what she was informed of.
When Rabin was in power, more than 10 million Israeli shekels were allocated for these outposts.
The numbers mentioned in Sasson’s report do not include those large amounts invested by the Ministry of Defense, settlement unit in the Jewish Agency and regional councils and donations from Israel and abroad.
The Jewish Agency refused to reveal the amounts of money it invested in the outposts indicating that it used those amounts of money to fund the basic costs of the outpost including planning means of production and generators of electricity.
The largest sum transferred was 5.2 million and another 750 thousand Shekels to Nov Harim Eili that was illegally constructed on a Palestinian private land, the money was transferred by the Ministry of Housing in 1995.
At the same period of time, the Ministry transferred 6.5 million Shekels to both Pisgat Yacov and Ammouna and 1.56 million Shekels to Horshah that was constructed at that time.
The Migron outpost that was constructed in may 2001 on Palestinian lands of the West Bank villages of Ein Yabrud and Burqa got the amount of 3.5 million Shekels for the infrastructure and 800 thousand shekels for the constructions
The Israeli electricity company claimed that it connected the outpost after receiving false information from the Israeli civil administration on the legal status of the outpost, while the Israeli water authority said that the settlement council asked it to connect the outpost with its net.
Additionally, the outpost of Gevat Haru’a constructed in 2002 received 1.6 from the Ministry of Housing
One of the outposts received the largest sums from the Ministry of Housing when Benjamin Ben Aliezer (Labor Party) became the Minister of Housing in 1995. He transferred 5.2 million shekels form infrastructure, and 750.000 for public facilities.
The outpost was party constructed on Palestinian private lands.
