Israeli soldiers clash with settlers

CLUB-WIELDING riot troops dragged away thousands of stone-throwing Jewish settlers from rooftops and behind barbed wire yesterday, evacuating an illegal West Bank outpost in the fiercest clash over settlements since Israel’s Gaza pull-out.

The demolition of nine houses at Amona, a hilltop enclave in the heart of the West Bank, was seen as a test for acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has said he would act with determination against settlers violating the law.

Mr Olmert is widely expected to withdraw from more areas of the West Bank and dismantle additional Jewish settlements, whether unilaterally or in a deal with the Palestinians, if elected prime minister in March elections.