U.S. envoy: Dismantle West Bank outposts

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon should dismantle settlement outposts and freeze building in other Jewish settlements in keeping with commitments he gave the United States, the U.S. ambassador to Israel said.

Daniel Kurtzer's comments Tuesday were a rare public criticism of Sharon, who has enjoyed strong U.S. support in his three year campaign to crack down on Palestinian militants and isolate Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Kurtzer told Army Radio that Sharon and one of his close advisers had promised President Bush and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to remove scores of unauthorized settlement outposts that dot hilltops throughout the West Bank. Sharon also discussed freezing building in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, he said.

Palestinians view the West Bank settlements as encroachment on land they claim for a future state.

Kurtzer said the United States wanted to see Sharon's commitments honored.

"These are commitments undertaken by Israel," he said. "They're not as a result of any pressure from our side, so this is something that Israel undertook to do, and therefore, sure, we expect them to be fulfilled."

A senior Israeli official told the Associated Press that Israel would fulfill the promises it made on the settlement outposts. He attributed any delays to Israeli courts holding up demolition orders.

Under the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan, Israel is required to dismantle dozens of unauthorized outposts and freeze construction in veteran settlements. It has continued settlement building and the Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now says it has taken down only a handful of outposts, leaving more than 100 standing.

On Monday Israel's Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order against an army decision to dismantle Givat Haroeh, one of the largest West Bank outposts. A court spokeswoman said justices would meet within a week to consider the issue.

Also Tuesday - on the eve of a visit by an Egyptian mediator - Palestinian officials sent conflicting signals on how much involvement they will accept from their neighbor after an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Egypt and the Palestinians have a historically uneasy relationship, and Egypt's proposed role in securing Gaza - once ruled by Cairo - has many Palestinians worried they'll be replacing one occupation with another.

Egypt demands that in preparation for an Israeli withdrawal, Arafat restructure his tangled security forces and relinquish some control over them. It also wants to send 200 military advisers to Gaza to retrain Palestinian security forces.

Palestinians are wary. An Arafat ally said Egypt shouldn't meddle or press for security reform, and Palestinian militants angrily rejected any planned Egyptian security role in Gaza. Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath tried to soften the rare criticism by saying Cairo's help is welcome.

Complicating matters, Israel is resisting an Egyptian demand that it halt military activities in Gaza after the advisers arrive there, an Israeli official said. However, Israel expects to be able to reach a compromise, the official said.

With Israel shunning the Palestinians as unreliable negotiating partners, Egypt - fearing chaos on its border with Gaza - has been trying to ensure order there after a pullout, planned for next year. The latest dispute threatens those efforts and leaves Gaza's future uncertain.

Egypt has a rocky history with the Palestinians. It took little responsibility for the Palestinians in Gaza when it ruled the region before Israel captured it in 1967 and worked to keep Palestinian refugees out of the country. That did not prevent Egyptian leaders from using the Palestinian cause to try to galvanize the Arab world behind its leadership.

But as the most influential Arab country at peace with Israel, it is now a key broker in the region.

Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman was to hold talks today in Jerusalem with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz. Afterward, he was to go to Ramallah to meet with Arafat.

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