Prime Minister Sharon has asked Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer to hold off on his plans to dismantle 16 new outposts throughout Judea and Samaria and wait for a Cabinet debate on the matter. Ben-Eliezer had boasted two days ago that he would remove the outposts, saying he could not allow the residents to \"endanger their lives...\", but today he said the matter had been \"blown out of proportion\" and that it was actually the army\'s idea in the first place. However, Israel Radio reported that a senior army officer said that the entire matter of the outposts could have been concluded quietly without Ben-Eliezer\'s announcement; many correspondents have surmised aloud that the Defense Minister\'s intention was to enhance his candidacy for the post of Labor Party head.
Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports, \"It\'s not true that it was the army\'s idea [to evacuate the outposts]; the army was actually surprised. No one in the army, according to the checks I made, even knew which 15 outposts are talked about; there are many different lists, but none of them are of 15… I wouldn\'t say that the army is excited about the outposts, but it is not felt that they are a burden or the like. In general, there has always been good cooperation between the people running the outposts and the army in the area… The Yesha leaders met two weeks ago with Central Command officers, after Ben-Eliezer told them that whatever they would agree would be OK with him, and they agreed on the way in which the outposts would continue to operate. They also agreed about the removal or relocation of a few of them that were only temporary in the first place; in some of them, the army will take over...\"
An older brother of the outposts - two-year-old Elonei Shilo, located two kilometers northwest of Karnei Shomron - has recently received a permit to build a synagogue. In addition, a higher-education institute is planned to open this fall. Twelve families currently live there, and at least three more are on their way. For further information, see \"www.geocities.com/elonei\".
Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports, \"It\'s not true that it was the army\'s idea [to evacuate the outposts]; the army was actually surprised. No one in the army, according to the checks I made, even knew which 15 outposts are talked about; there are many different lists, but none of them are of 15… I wouldn\'t say that the army is excited about the outposts, but it is not felt that they are a burden or the like. In general, there has always been good cooperation between the people running the outposts and the army in the area… The Yesha leaders met two weeks ago with Central Command officers, after Ben-Eliezer told them that whatever they would agree would be OK with him, and they agreed on the way in which the outposts would continue to operate. They also agreed about the removal or relocation of a few of them that were only temporary in the first place; in some of them, the army will take over...\"
An older brother of the outposts - two-year-old Elonei Shilo, located two kilometers northwest of Karnei Shomron - has recently received a permit to build a synagogue. In addition, a higher-education institute is planned to open this fall. Twelve families currently live there, and at least three more are on their way. For further information, see \"www.geocities.com/elonei\".