Israeli Prime Minister Mr ArielSharon pledged today to remove "illegal" settler outposts inthe West Bank to meet a demand made in a US-backed peace planthat also calls for a freeze on all settlement activity.
Mr Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mr Mahmoud Abbas are dueto discuss the so-called road map in separate meetings with USPresident George Bush in Washington next week.
In a statement to the Israeli parliament, which met duringsummer recess to discuss pressing issues, Mr Sharon acknowledgedintense international pressure to dismantle the sparselyinhabited hilltop outposts.
"Leaders around the world, including our best friends, haveprotested their existence to me and to ministers," said Mr Sharon.
"I have said before, to the cabinet and at (the June 4 peacesummit in) Aqaba, that illegal outposts will be dismantled."
Parliament voted 47 to 27 with one abstention to backMr Sharon's policy statement, which gave no time frame for theremoval of what settlement monitoring groups say are more than60 illegal outposts.
Only a handful of the hilltop settlements, usually only afew temporary structures, have been dismantled since theUS-led Aqaba summit and peace groups say those removed havealready been replaced by new outposts.
Mr Sharon's promise, which failed to address the road map'scall for a halt to settlement construction, failed to impressPalestinian Labour Minister Mr Ghassan al-Khatib.
"This is unacceptable because it is not in line withIsrael's obligation under the road map that says Israel shoulddismantle the rogue outposts and stop construction in existingones," Mr Khatib told reporters.