The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Givat Assaf Outpost

Israel announced that it would cut off funding for illegal settlement outposts and crack down on extremist squatters, but settler leaders vowed Monday to resist the order and accused the government of fanning hatred toward them.

The government decision Sunday to cut off funding was a new acknowledgment that Israel has been complicit in the development of dozens of unauthorized outposts throughout the West Bank, despite repeated pledges to the U.S. to dismantle them. This ambivalence was on display Monday near the hilltop outpost of Migron north of Jerusalem. Israeli security forces tore down several shacks built months ago as an "outpost of an outpost."

But army guards continued to protect Migron, which is linked to the electricity grid, has a paved access road and is home to more than 40 families.