Israeli settlers vow to oppose troops

Hundreds of Jewish settlers today prepared to oppose Israeli soldiers and police intent on dismantling their homes.

Israel’s Defence Ministry has vowed to remove two settler outposts: Havat Gilad and Givat Asaf. Hundreds of youths gathered to defend them.

It was not clear if any of them were armed, but settlers often carry weapons to guard against attacks from Palestinian militants.

“I hope that this brutal, black, cursed day will not come,” said Moshe Zar at Havat Gilad. The outpost was named for his son, Gilad, who was shot dead by the Palestinians.

“No one will get up and leave on order. They will have to remove the people who will be here. But this dismantlement is not the end of the story,” he added.

In 1999, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak reached an agreement with the Settlers’ Council to dismantle several illegal outposts – many of which are little more than a few mobile homes.

But more than 100 settlers at a small ranch called Havat Maon refused to leave, and soldiers dragged the men, women and children onto buses.

More than 200,000 Israelis live in Jewish settlements scattered throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, an area populated by more than three million Palestinians.

Israel captured the land in the 1967 Mideast war and Palestinians want it for a future state. Many Jewish settlers view the West Bank as their Biblical birthright.