The list of outposts to be evacuated was compiled, at least partially, by the United States. Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman reports in the name of "reliable sources" that the Bush Administration either dictated the entire list or was a partner to its compilation. It has long been known that the U.S. Embassy in Israel continually collects information, largely with the aid of Peace Now, on the various Jewish communities and outposts in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Aerial photos assist in monitoring the changes on the ground.
Warning lights were turned on for Yesha Council leaders on Monday after what they called their "difficult" meeting with Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz regarding the plans to uproot outposts. On their way out of the meeting, the Council leaders encountered US Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer - who himself has strong ties with Peace Now - on his way in to a meeting with Mofaz. This aroused suspicions, Huberman reports, and subsequent investigations proved that the Americans are in fact a driving force behind the plan to uproot specific outposts.
Yesha Council sources say they now understand how the community/outpost of Migron, with 42 families, entered the "to be uprooted" list. The Americans demanded its dismantling, in the knowledge that it was a "flagship" outpost and in a much-traveled location. Mofaz, so far, has agreed - despite both Migron's strategic location and the fact that the main force behind its establishment was IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon, who served at the time as Chief Commander of the Central Command.
Yaalon claimed then that if Israel did not grab that spot - a high hilltop in the area of Psagot, Kokhav Yaakov, and Michmash, and overlooking the highway to Beit El, Ofrah, and the Shomron - the Arabs would claim it and Israel would lose an important point. Even Yaalon's successor in the Central Command, Maj.-Gen. Yitzchak Eitan, who was not known for his great sympathies for the Yesha settlement enterprise, once threatened that if Migron were to be removed, he would immediately establish an army base there.
Warning lights were turned on for Yesha Council leaders on Monday after what they called their "difficult" meeting with Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz regarding the plans to uproot outposts. On their way out of the meeting, the Council leaders encountered US Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer - who himself has strong ties with Peace Now - on his way in to a meeting with Mofaz. This aroused suspicions, Huberman reports, and subsequent investigations proved that the Americans are in fact a driving force behind the plan to uproot specific outposts.
Yesha Council sources say they now understand how the community/outpost of Migron, with 42 families, entered the "to be uprooted" list. The Americans demanded its dismantling, in the knowledge that it was a "flagship" outpost and in a much-traveled location. Mofaz, so far, has agreed - despite both Migron's strategic location and the fact that the main force behind its establishment was IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon, who served at the time as Chief Commander of the Central Command.
Yaalon claimed then that if Israel did not grab that spot - a high hilltop in the area of Psagot, Kokhav Yaakov, and Michmash, and overlooking the highway to Beit El, Ofrah, and the Shomron - the Arabs would claim it and Israel would lose an important point. Even Yaalon's successor in the Central Command, Maj.-Gen. Yitzchak Eitan, who was not known for his great sympathies for the Yesha settlement enterprise, once threatened that if Migron were to be removed, he would immediately establish an army base there.