Israeli Settlers Rebuilding Even as Outposts Are Razed
A tour through miles of golden hills and olive groves reveals that the West Bank is gaining rather than losing outposts.

There isn't much to look at — a water tower, the charcoal ghosts of old campfires, a handful of trailers clinging to the earth against hot winds. This scraped-out hilltop isn't on the map, but it's been under construction for months, and it's growing daily — new foundations, new trailers and even a new baby. They named him Amitzur, which means "my people are like a rock."

On paper, Haroe is slated for oblivion. A U.S.-backed peace plan calls on Israel to immediately tear down all such Jewish settlement outposts erected since March 2001 in the Palestinian territories.

But a tour through miles of golden hills and olive groves reveals that the West Bank is gaining rather than losing outposts. Israel's scattered efforts to raze renegade homesteads have only succeeded in inspiring a contrary construction spurt.
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Israelis Sense They've Won

Israeli officials are expressing growing confidence that after 33 months they have defeated the Palestinian uprising, or intifada.

The Israeli chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, told Israeli reporters on Wednesday that the developments this week might eventually be seen "as the end" of the conflict. "It is certainly a victory" for Israel, he was quoted as saying.

Some Israeli analysts criticized that conclusion as premature, if not hubristic. Yet for now, the American-brokered talks between the adversaries are being held on what appear to be largely Israeli terms.
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The Israeli's may be a little premature in declaring victory.