West Bank settlements top 100

2003-11-17 13:02

Jerusalem - A total of 103 settlement outposts, which were meant to be all torn down under the terms of the Middle East "roadmap" peace plan, are now dotted around the West Bank, the settlement watchdog Peace Now said on Monday.

Five out of eight of the outposts which were dismantled in a wave of publicity last summer after the internationally-backed peace blueprint was launched in the Jordanian resort of Aqaba have since been rebuilt, the group said in a statement.

"There are 103 settlements, including 56 which have been established since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon came to power in March 2001," Peace Now said.

"Five out of the eight outposts which were dismantled in recent months have since been reconstructed," the organisation added.

Public radio said on Sunday that Sharon had pledged to address the issue of illegal settlement outposts after reports that the United States had severely rapped its ally over West Bank settlement activity.

The Haaretz daily reported on Sunday that Washington, the chief sponsor of the troubled roadmap, had "severely criticised" the continuing settlement activity and the route of Israel's controversial West Bank separation barrier.

"Sharp messages" had been relayed in phone calls between the US National Security Council's Middle East department chief Elliot Abrams and Sharon's chief of staff Dov Weisglass.

Peace Now chief Yariv Oppenheimer said the government was allowing existing outposts to be transformed into permanent settlements.

"The new government policy of the last few months no longer consists of allowing the establishment of outposts but to develop existing ones, supplying them with electricity and building access roads."

- AFP