The secretariat of the Samarian Jewish outpost community of Ramat Gil'ad announced, Tuesday, that it had decided to reach an agreement with the state regarding its holding on to the site. In a statement, the secretariat said the decision was made, "Out ofresponsibilitynot toreach the state of civil warandeven though they aretrying tostrip us of ourlands welawfullyacquired...." According to the statement, "We were promised,unequivocallythat as long asthe dialogue is not depleted, no unilateral action will be taken."
Residents of Ramat Gilad accused Defense Minister Ehud Barak of trying to execute a "sneaky hijacking" through "corrupt use of the Israel Defense Forces as if they were his private property, in opposition to the position of his fellow ministers." They added, "Unfortunately,despitethe ongoingdialogueat this timeanddespite theprospect of reachinga peacefulagreement,Barakcontinuesto concentrateforcesand other weapons."