Israeli army prepared for violence at West Bank outpost evacuation

HUNDREDS of right-wing protesters poured into a Jewish outpost yesterday, laying barbed wire and cement blocks to thwart Israeli troops preparing to uproot part of the West Bank settlement.

Israel was planning to send 7,000 troops and police officers to clear out Amona, in what would be the first forced evacuation of Jewish settlers since last summer’s pull-out from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank.

Military officials predicted stiff resistance during the evacuation, which was expected to begin today.

Under the internationally backed “road map” peace plan, Israel has committed to dismantle about two dozen outposts but so far has taken little action.

Major General Yair Naveh said the army expected the protesters to resist with similar tactics used during the Gaza “disengagement.”

During the Gaza pull-out, hundreds of settlers holed up in synagogues and homes, forcing soldiers to drag them away. In several instances, the settlers threw objects and chemicals, though no serious injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, a top Hamas official said the Islamic militant group will not be “blackmailed” by international threats to cut off aid to the Palestinians and is searching for new sources of funding. Osama Hamdan, a member of the group’s exiled leadership, spoke a day after international donors warned around e1 billion of aid could be in jeopardy if Hamas does not change its violent ways.

Monday’s meeting of the so-called “Quartet” of Middle East peace makers - the US, UN, EU and Russia - stopped short of issuing an outright threat to Hamas.

But they said it is “inevitable” that future aid to a Hamas-led government “would be reviewed” if Hamas fails to renounce violence.