An Israeli official says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to remove a West Bank outpost ahead of a court deadline, and is mulling whether to demolish the buildings or relocate them.

The official said Saturday that Netanyahu said in a meeting that if Ulpana is destroyed its five apartment buildings will be built tenfold elsewhere. Otherwise, the buildings will be moved to the nearby settlement of Beit El. He spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

About 30 families live in Ulpana. Israel's Supreme Court has ruled it was built illegally and ordered it dismantled by July.

Palestinians view settlements and outposts to be encroachments on land they claim for a state.