Israeli AG freezes funds

2004-04-15 11:14

Jerusalem - Israel's attorney general on Thursday ordered government ministries to freeze the transfer of all funds to settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, fearing the money will be transferred to illegal outposts, the Justice Ministry said.

Israel is required to dismantle dozens of outposts under the internationally backed "road map" peace plan, although it has only removed a handful of them. Early on Thursday, the military evacuated two uninhabited outposts, arresting seven settlers during the operation, the army said.

The United States and Palestinians have criticised the outposts as seeds of future settlements.

Last June, Israel's then-attorney general ordered ministries not to allocate funds to the outposts. The Justice Ministry said the new attorney general, Meni Mazuz, sent a reminder of the order in February.

But local settlement councils apparently have continued to divert money to the outposts. The ministry said on Thursday that Mazuz had ordered the freeze after receiving a report on the matter from the state comptroller. The ministry declined to reveal the contents of the report.

The ministry said the freeze would remain in effect until an oversight committee is set up, and that transfer of government funds to illegal activities will result in disciplinary action.

The freeze also applies to the Gaza Strip, even though there are no outposts in the territory.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has proposed withdrawing from Gaza, uprooting all 21 settlements there, as well as leaving a handful of West Bank settlements.

On Wednesday, President George W Bush endorsed Sharon's plan, also saying that Israel would be able to keep at least some of the West Bank under a final peace settlement with the Palestinians. Israel has established some 130 settlements in the West Bank since capturing the territory in 1967.

- AP