Amid US pressure, Netanyahu orders removal of unauthorized West Bank settler outposts, sources say

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the dismantling of unauthorized settler outposts in the West Bank, two people familiar with the matter said, as the United States pressures Israel to act against settler violence.

The order concerns outposts built without official state authorization. Such sites typically consist of prefabricated caravans housing a small number of settlers. Israeli authorities have sometimes demolished them and, in other cases, formally recognized them and allowed access to government funding. It was not immediately clear when the operation would begin.

The order followed a call from US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee for violent settlers to face severe consequences. Huckabee made the comments after meeting Palestinian Americans in Turmus Aiya, a West Bank town near Ramallah. Ynet reported that the order could cover about 100 outposts, while Israeli media reports said hundreds of settlements could be removed.

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terrorists

Netanyahu’s office and the military did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Netanyahu had instructed authorities to evict sites built in Areas A and B, although Smotrich said he disagreed with the decision. He also said the government had made major progress advancing settlements in Area C.

The issue comes amid continuing reports of harassment and intimidation by settlers. Last month, settlers surrounded Palestinian homes in a nearby village, including one owned by a Palestinian American, before the military removed them from the area. The village’s residents said harassment continued.

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an instruction to evict places built in Areas A and B