Ha'aretz, July 8, 1999
'Barak vowed to leave West Bank hilltops intact'
By Nadav Shragai, Ha'aretz Correspondent
Interior Minister Natan Sharansky has told several leaders of the Yesha Council of
Jewish settlements that he received a promise from Prime Minister Ehud Barak not to
evacuate the caravan sites set up by settlers on hilltops outside their mother
settlements.
According to Sharansky, several hours before initialling the coalition agreement
between One Israel and Yisrael b'Aliya he told Barak that he would not sign the agreement
until understandings were reached on three issues, one of them being the hilltop
settlements. Sharansky said Barak then promised him the caravan sites would not be
evacuated, understanding that they were talking about hilltop sites that are within the
various settlements' master plans and have won at least de-facto approval from head of the
Central Command and head of the Civil Administration.
After receiving this promise - verbally but not in writing - Sharansky consented to
sign the coalition agreement.
In response, the Prime Minister's Office last night said only that "the coalition
agreements are public and open for anyone to read, and Prime Minister Barak is only
committed to what is written in them." Barak refused, via his spokesperson, to make
any direct comment on Sharansky's statement, as requested by Ha'aretz.
The coalition agreements do not include any specific reference to the caravan sites,
stating only that existing settlements will not be hurt. The agreements do not specify
whether the caravan sites are included in the category of "settlements."
Sources in the National Religious Party confirmed yesterday as well that during the
coalition negotiations Barak promised Party Chair Yitzhak Levy that caravan sites approved
by the defense establishment and included within the settlements' master plans would not
be removed. The sources said the NRP would not have signed the coalition agreement with
One Israel had they not been convinced Barak intended to keep his word.
In Barak's talks with Sharansky and Levy the sides did not enter into detailed
discussions of the location or number of sites, but the understanding they reached means
the vast majority of sites set up before and after the Wye accords will remain intact.
In total, there are 42 such sites, most of which were set up without permits on lands
included in their mother settlements' master plans and approved only after the act by the
defense establishment, on instructions from then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along
with his defense and foreign ministers. Only five of the 42 sites are still considered
illegal by the defense establishment. Twenty-nine of the sites were set up after the Wye
accords were signed last year.
The Defense Minister's office has drawn up a list detailing the caravan sites
established during the Netanyahu government's term of office. Each entry in the list
includes the site's location, the number of caravans or other structures it includes, the
date it was set up and its current legal status. Barak is set to go over the list in the
upcoming days.
© Copyright 1999 Ha'aretz. All Rights Reserved
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Sharansky: PM Promises Not to Remove Yesha Hilltop Communities
(IsraelWire-7/8-1999) Interior Minister Natan Sharansky told leaders of the Council of
Jewish Settlements of Judea, Samaria and Gaza (Yesha Council) that the issue of Yesha
hilltop communities was discussed with the prime minister prior to his party signing a
coalition agreement to enter the government.
Sharansky told the Yesha leaders that Prime Minster Ehud Barak told him that the newly
established hilltops that are part of existing communities would not be dismantled. The
commitment was given verbally and not in writing.
When requested by the Haaretz daily to comment on the statements made by Sharansky, the
prime minister's spokesperson declined. Officials in the Prime Minister's Office did
comment however that Mr. Barak and the government are only bound by the written
agreements, which are public documents and may be reviewed by anyone.
Minister of Housing Yitzhak Levy, head of the National Religious Party, confirmed the
issue of hilltop communities was discussed prior to signing coalition agreements. NRP
officials indicated that they would not have entered into the government coalition without
receiving assurances vis-á-vis the future of the newly developing communities. There was
a stipulation however that a differentiation was made between hilltops approved by the
Civil Administration and defense establishment officials and those areas that are not
approved.
Prime Minister Ehud Barak is expected to review the defense establishment listing of
the hilltop communities, numbering in the tens, to begin determinin
