October 27, 2008

Interview with General Keith Dayton, the US security coordinator, by Abd-al-Ra'uf Arna'ut;

Dayton: These Are the Objectives of My Task, Truth of What I Did in Gaza

[Arna'ut] You are very well known in the Palestinian arena, but few people actually know what you do. What do you specifically do?

[Dayton] I have been serving in the US army for the past 38 years. I am an artillery man but my last task in that arm dates back to 13 years ago. I have been carrying out political and security tasks since then. For example, I was the US military attache in Russia. I was tasked to look for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. I was a strategic planner in the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and Army Command. When former US Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld asked me to come here to work with the PA, I saw this as an important and beneficial challenge. I have been here for the past three years, as I arrived in the Palestinian territories in December 2005. I am committed to this important and advantageous task.

This Is Our Basic Task

[Dayton] I believe it is very important to understand our task. We are an international team comprising Americans, Canadians, and Britons. Our work is unique in that we speak with all the parties that have anything to do with the Palestinian-Israeli issues. Therefore, I do not work with Palestinians only, but I work closely with the Israelis and I also work with the Jordanians. I worked also with the Egyptians in the past. This is a unique situation, because, as you know, our diplomatic missions focus only on one aspect. But in a normal week, I might meet with Dr Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister, or with Interior Minister Abd-al-Razzaq al-Yaha. I also meet with the head of the Strategic Planning Department in the Israeli army or with the Israeli military commander in the West Bank. Thus, it is important for one to realize that I am in contact with all parties. I believe this helps me in my basic task of working with the PA security services.

We maintain close contacts with Quartet envoy Tony Blair as well as with the European mission that deals with the Palestinian Police. We also closely adhere to efforts of General Jim Jones, launched within the framework of the Annapolis process.

It is important to note that we live here. We do not come for a few days and then leave like many visitors. The fact that we live here enables us to establish relations with people from all sides, to win their trust, and seek to change things for the better. When we see that we can improve something, we carry this out, because we are here and we monitor the situation round the clock. I believe this makes a great difference.

How do I describe my mission? Simply speaking, I was sent here to work with the Palestinian security services to ensure a more safe and secure future for the Palestinian people. In other words, the changes and the professional rehabilitation of the Palestinian security services will lead, in my opinion, to the enhancement of law and order and will bolster the Palestinian people's safety and security. I strongly believe that this will directly lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Palestine has new and dynamic security commanders who can achieve this. I would like to tell you quite frankly that I am honored to work with these people and I highly value their courage and strong personality and professionalism.

We began serious work with the Palestinian security services in 2007 when the US Congress gave us $86 million to work with the Palestinian security services in the West Bank. Thanks to this sum, we have accomplished many things.
In the field of training, the International Police Training Center in Jordan graduated more than 1,100 members from the Presidential Guard and National Security Forces [NSF]. Many of these forces are now deployed in the streets of Janin and will be deployed in Hebron soon. I have to tell you that I do not have any doubt that the members of the Palestinian security forces are very capable people.

With our help, the Palestinian security services conducted a training course for drivers, another course for English language, and a training course for teams in Jericho. One of the events that satisfies us the most is the Senior Commanders' Course that is currently being held in Ramallah composed of 36 senior commanders from all the Palestinian security services, such as the Civil Defense, Preventive Security Service, NSF, Presidential Guard, and the Police. They will work together over a period of eight weeks in small working groups to analyze and study the Palestinian security policy for the future and place it within a larger regional framework. They have foreign lecturers who have come from abroad and they are learning together how to carry out joint work. We believe that matters are proceeding smoothly. I was there yesterday and I must say that what I saw exceeded my expectation. I saw the commanders from the Preventive Security Service, the Presidential Guard, and NSF talking together and exchanging ideas on how to build Palestine. This action calls for admiration.

Completion of Infrastructure Projects

We also used part of these funds to carry out infrastructure projects in Jericho in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Works. One of the biggest two projects is the Presidential Guard Training Academy, which is the highest level Palestinian facility established so far. It is a very splendid place and has not been completed as yet. But it will be a beautiful place. It is worth mentioning that the Palestinians were the ones who did all the plans, carried out the construction work and decided for what it will be used. We only supplied the money for its establishment and sought some advice from our experts.

We started the construction of a camp for the operations of the special NSF 2d Battalion and I was there yesterday. There is an officer called Nidal, who is so proud of what he is doing there. The place can accommodate 800 persons. The place was just a vacant plot of land one year ago. But we have now completed the infrastructure. I met with people from the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Public Works, and the NSF who are working expeditiously on the project. Therefore, one can expect it to be completed by the end of January, and it was established by the Palestinians themselves.

We also use part of the money to work with Interior Minister Al-Yahya to set up a strategic planning department and budget department. This is in progress and we are also very happy with this work and effort.
The Congress decided to disburse an additional $75 million this spring. Part of this money is being used to train a new NSF battalion of 500 members in Jordan. The NSF will dispatch another battalion for training there at the end of December. With our help, the NSF will carry out training exercises in the West Bank, particularly in Jericho, and we will complete the infrastructure work that we have already started. We have another infrastructure project that has been planned but its location has not been decided as yet and we will do this.

Training in Jordan is being carried out by the Jordanian police. I must tell you that I visited Jordan more than 10 times during the training period. The Jordanians are enthusiastic about this project and are not the only ones to admire the Palestinian trainees. The Jordanian trainers are tough trainers. They are very happy with the graduates. The commander of the Jordanian police is very committed to the training; he and King Abdallah II had reiterated their commitment to train the required number of Palestinians. They are very happy. Also, the Palestinians who are receiving their training are very happy with the training they are getting. As a military man who has been observing training courses all his life, I find it extremely important for me to observe members from the Jordanian police speak with Palestinian young men whose ages range between 19 and 20 years telling them what they did right and where they have gone wrong with such a personal interest.

Having spent three years here, I am proud to work side by side with people I believe are dynamic and have vision. I am speaking of Palestinian leaders like President Abu-Mazin [Mahmud Abbas], Prime Minister Fayyad, and Major General Abu-al-Fath [alias of Dhiyab al-Ali], commander of the NSF in the West Bank; Major General Hazim Atallah, police commander, who carried out excellent things in the police service; Major General Munir from the Presidential Guard; and many other commanders. I am familiar with their viewpoint because we have been discussing it. They believe that through changes and professional training of the Palestinian security services, the Palestinian people will enhance law and order and will attain security and safety for the Palestinian families and this will lead to a free and independent Palestinian state that will live in peace and security with its neighbors.

If there was not this vision, I would most probably be not here. However, this is the vision that they share with the United States. I strongly believe that each one of these elements who went to Jordan for training or even the 500 new elements from the Presidential Guard whom I met in Jericho -- each one of them believes that he is a builder of a state and that his generation will build this state. I believe in this too. They realize what this requires. The performance of these units after their return from Jordan was wonderful and exceeded the expectations of many, including Israelis. They will deploy in Hebron, because they have proved that that they are capable of what we said they could do. Their leadership is wonderful. I am proud of working with them.

We Will Strengthen Our Work in the Future

[Arna'ut] During the term of President Clinton, the tendency was to maintain direct contacts between the CIA director, who was then George Tenet, and the security commanders. During the era of President Bush, the tendency was to send you to the region to work directly with the security commanders. Sometimes you mix with the elements themselves. Shall we expect this tendency to continue under the coming US administration?

[Dayton] It is not possible for me to predict. However, I have not received any indication from any person that the current tendency will change, because both Abu-Mazin, Fayyad, and the higher political leadership in Washington, think that this tendency achieves results and is successful. I believe that there is a feeling that it is necessary to strengthen this tendency and not change it.

When President Bush announced his support for the establishment of a Palestinian state, this was the first political announcement of this sort. This consolidated a position that I believe no US political leader will back off from. That is why the United States has shown long-term interest in this Palestinian national project. I do not want to seem arrogant, but the US Army has only 35 three-star generals. We have a huge army, which has but 35 generals. Nevertheless, the United States has committed that one of these generals will be here. I have been here continuously without my family for three years. This indicates a high level of commitment by the United States to this project. There is nothing to cast doubt on the wisdom of this decision.
Look at the Janin Example

[Arna'ut] Everybody is aware of the link between the political-economic situation and the security situation. Everybody says that there will be no [peace agreement] by the end of the year. However, the process is continuing. There has been a slight improvement in the economic situation. The Palestinians say that Israel must do more on the ground to help in this regard. To what extent does this affect the security situation?
[Dayton] First of all, I would appreciate if you do not ask me political questions, because as a soldier I do not speak in politics. I believe that we should look at what we see in Janin. I know that some might ask: Why Janin? But Janin is the place that it was decided to focus on. We have noticed an improvement in the security situation there. This has resulted in greater opportunities for improving the economic situation. I work closely with Tony Blair's team, which is basically working on a number of economic issues. We are cohesive. Therefore, I am sure that when I work with the governor of Janin and the commander of the region, what we do in relation to the security issues strengthens what Tony Blair is trying to do in relation to the economic aspect. Dr Fayyad was on a visit last week to Washington where he participated in an economic conference that resulted in greater interest in the economic development in the West Bank. He told the conference that the situation had greatly improved in the Janin Governorate.

Security is the inevitable first step. Economic growth and stability cannot be achieved in an environment of organized crime and racketeering or of people who ignore the power of the PA. This is one of the biggest successes in Janin, namely, the capability of the security forces, led by the Police, to make the people respect the power of the PA. Therefore, we are talking now in Janin about how to improve the economy more than we are talking about the imposition of law and order because this matter has been achieved to a great extent. We are very pleased with the performance of the security services.

We Work To Return to the September 2000 Situation

[Arna'ut] However, ordinary Palestinians say the Palestinian Police and security services are doing a brilliant job during the day, while during the night there is fear that the Israeli army will carry out incursions and arrests. The question that begs itself is when will we return to the situation that prevailed before September 2000?

[Dayton] It is a fair question. It is a very complicated subject. It is a matter on which I work constantly with the Israeli side. The United States works constantly with all sides on this matter. I believe matters have improved in Janin. In this regard, I refer to an opinion poll conducted by the Khalil Al-Shiqaqi Center in August. The poll asked respondents whether there was better security now than there was a year ago. In some governorates respondents said they felt there was no improvement, but in Janin and Nabulus respondents said they felt there was improvement in security. In Janin, this rate reached 50 percent, which is a high rate. Therefore, things do not change overnight. Believe me, as I said, I meet with everybody. I believe I and my Israeli counterparts have achieved some progress. The issue is difficult. Let us wait how things will develop.

The performance of the security forces in Janin has prompted the Israelis to say something good is happening here. This has prompted senior Israeli officials to say let us have another look.

[Arna'ut] But how can you help the Palestinians to improve the situation even more through your contacts with the Israelis?

[Dayton] Let me give you an example. When the seriousness of the PA in assuming security responsibility in Janin became clear, one of the things that were done was the establishment of a hot line between the two commands: the [Palestinian] commander of the region of Janin and the Israeli commander, so that they could solve problems quickly. The Israelis considerably reduced their operations in Janin, but they did not stop them. Believe me this is a topic that we continue to follow up. There are matters on which we are still working and on which we will continue to work. We do this through meetings, conversations, and emphasizing the brilliant work these youths are doing.

I Am Not Responsible for What HAMAS Says About Me

[Arna'ut] You know that HAMAS officials utter your name a lot. They say that you want to eradicate HAMAS. An American magazine has said that you are pushing toward a Palestinian civil war. What is your comment on this?

[Dayton] I am not responsible for what HAMAS says about me. But I can say that during my discussions with the Palestinian security command, Abu-Mazin, and Fayyad, we do not talk about HAMAS, but we talk about law and order and the safety and security of the Palestinian people. What HAMAS says is its business. But, sincerely speaking, look.... As far I am concerned, HAMAS is a political issue. I do not interfere in this matter. As you know, I do not deal with HAMAS. This is accepted internationally and everybody knows it. During the training of the security services in Amman, Interior Minister Al-Yahya told the participants: "I want each one of you to know that you are not here to learn allegiance to any faction, clan, or political movement. You are here as builders of the Palestinian state and your allegiance is to Palestine." The message was that you follow the orders of your command but you allegiance is to the Palestinian people. The name of HAMAS was not mentioned once.
What I am interested in is whether an ordinary family in Janin can walk in a street in evening hours and buy ice cream without fear of an armed clash taking place in the street. The Palestinians have achieved this with US assistance. The PA has achieved this.

What Happened With General Jones

One of the stories that happened in this small world was with General Jim Jones (appointed by the US Administration to supervise the security arrangements after peace is established). He told me that while he was visiting North Carolina last summer, he went to visit a physician whose wife happened to be a Palestinian from Janin. [Actually] this happened this summer. General Jones asked the physician about the situation. The physician said that his family returned to Janin for a visit during the summer. Here, General Jones asked him: "Really to Janin? Is it not safe there?" So the physician answered: "No, the children loved it. They went to see their family and they used to go out in the evening to the street, safely and without any fear." A year ago, this would have been unimaginable.

When people feel safe and secure, they act in a different way. They are not exposed to crime and fanaticism but simply live their lives, just like all of us.

I always wondered when I read what HAMAS says about me, because it is clear that its people never talked to me. Similarly, they do not talk to people who know what I do. I think that the entire thing is just rumors and propaganda because what I do is intended to establish law and order.

This Is the Truth About My Role In Gaza

[Arna'ut] Before the coup in Gaza, you did some work there.

[Dayton] Let me tell you what I did there, because what is being said is nothing more than rumors that are not correct at all. Let me tell you a few facts. First, after the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Quartet asked me not to work with any of the security apparatuses except for the Presidential Guard. The reason for this is mainly that the Presidential Guard is directly affiliated with President Abu-Mazin. In addition, President Abbas ordered the apparatus to assume responsibility for the crossings, especially in Rafah. Nevertheless, it had some work to do in Kerem Shalom and we were looking to do work in Qarni.

I worked on the crossings in Rafah and Qarni (Al-Mintar). To say the truth, we established in Qarni an extremely advanced crossing in cooperation with the PA and the Israel Ports Authority. This was the way to keep Gaza alive. I spent a long time in meetings with the Egyptians, Palestinians, and Israelis to keep these crossings functioning because the way we described the situation was that Gaza should be allowed to breath. Until that time, I had no funds because Congress did not allocate any funds for me until 2007. Hence, when HAMAS said that I am building the security apparatuses, I had no available money at the time. I did not receive any funds until after the coup in Gaza. So, could you explain to me how I could have done that? I was not even allowed to enter Gaza because this was part of a US policy following the killings that took place there in the past.

We used to do a good work because we were working to help the people of Gaza. Believe me when I say that HAMAS knew this very well, and it knew perfectly well what we were doing. For instance, Congress approved $40 million and I intended to spend a little more than half of this money on the establishment of the Qarni crossing that would ease the transfer of goods from Gaza to Israel. The other part of the money was intended for the Presidential Guard. However, we never received this money because HAMAS carried out its coup before the funds arrived. I leave it to the readers to decide on whether HAMAS wanted to undermine something or not because if the crossings were opened -- and the contract was ready for the Palestinians to start the work -- Gaza would have been a different place.

[Arna'ut] Were you surprised by what HAMAS did because many people were?

[Dayton] I think that what Gaza has proved is that you need strong security forces under a clear authority. These forces need to be well-trained and well equipped with the equipment they need. This was a lesson that Gaza has taught me.

As for the surprise, a person can never be surprised. Things happen here and I stopped being surprised during my first year of service here.

[Arna'ut] I remember that for some time you worked with the Arab Security Quartet. However, it has disappeared. So what happened?

[Dayton] I am not sure what the reason was behind its disappearance, but it disappeared. It disappeared a short time after the coup in Gaza. But you are right. We worked with them for some time and they stopped. However, there was no political reason whatsoever for this.

[Arna'ut] You are working with the NSF and the Presidential Guard while the Europeans are working with the civilian police. As for the intelligence apparatus, it works with the president. How do you coordinate your work in order to achieve better results?

[Dayton] This is a very good question because one of the basic principles of what I am doing is to work with the PA on establishing forces to support the police. The United States believes strongly that the police are the most important Palestinian security force. This is the reason why I do not only meet continuously with the head of the European commission that deals with the police but I also constantly meet with Maj Gen Atallah. I have a permanent European coordination officer on my staff in order to coordinate on a daily and direct basis with the European commission. In other words, we do not have to go daily to their headquarter to talk with them about what the police is doing because we have close contacts with each other.

If you accept what I believe in, which is that the police are the cornerstone on which everything we are doing is built on and that the rest of the national security forces are there to support the police whenever there is a need, then, you would not be able to achieve that if the relationship was not so close and this is exactly the kind of relationship we have.

[Arna'ut] For the first time, the Palestinians have three US generals: you, General Johns, and General William Frazer. How do you make sure that the generals are achieving their required tasks? For instance, what is the task that General Jones is doing and which General Fraser is not doing?

[Dayton] My mission is to work with the Palestinian security forces in order to establish security and order as well as two states that live side by side in security and peace. I am the only one of the three generals who continuously lives here and who has budgets allocated by Congress to help the Palestinians. I am working with the Palestinians to build from the bottom upward. In other words, it is like building the foundations for the first floor of the house. The Palestinians are the builders but I am standing with them because I represent the tangible commitment of the United States.
General Jones is working on the political level and he works more on issues of trust building. Consequently, he is working on a strategic level while I am working on the operative one. As for General Fraser -- who incidentally left his position and has been replaced by General Selva -- his task is limited. I have worked with General Fraser for some time on following up on and evaluating the implementation of the Road Map. However, the results he reached are extremely confidential and this is between him and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Our Tasks Do Not Clash But Rather To Complement Each Other

[Arna'ut] To use your words, you are helping the Palestinians to establish the state of Palestine. When will this happen?

[Dayton] I do not know. I wish I did, but I do not think that this issue is far. I know that this generation of young men who are training now in Jordan is the generation that would establish the state. They will be looked upon in the years to come as the builders of Palestine. I told them: "Look, I cannot tell you that this will happen on 1 January 2009.

However, what I can tell you is that if you implement what you are learning, if you follow the orders of your leaders, and if you bear in mind that what you are doing is establishing law, order, and security for your people they then will follow you. You will be looked upon by the future generations as the lucky ones because you are the ones who will turn the Palestinian national enterprise into a reality."

Ramallah Al-Ayyam in Arabic -- Privately owned,daily

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Sunday gave up trying to form a coalition government, paving the way for new elections in early 2009. Palestinian officials worried that her decision could also mean the end of the fragile Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which resumed just under a year ago and had been a priority of the Bush administration.

Livni met with President Shimon Peres on Sunday and told him that despite five weeks of consultations, she was unable to put together a government. Peres can either ask another parliament member to try to cobble together a majority coalition, or he can announce that Israel will hold general elections. Analysts agreed that the latter is the more likely scenario, and Livni urged Peres to call elections as quickly as possible.

Peres had tasked Livni with forming a new government last month, after she won a primary to lead the centrist Kadima party. The former leader of Kadima, Ehud Olmert, resigned as prime minister amid a corruption investigation but remains head of a caretaker government until a new coalition can be formed.

If Israel holds elections, most polls forecast a highly competitive race between Livni and former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud party and a sharp critic of peace talks with the Palestinians. Livni has been a proponent of those talks.

In a statement to the news media after her meeting with Peres, Livni, wearing a somber black pantsuit and looking grim, said she was not willing to sell out her principles to form a government.

"I was willing to pay a price to form a government, but I was never willing to risk the political and economic future of Israel," she said, her comments carried live on Israeli TV and radio. "But in the past few days it has become clear to me that the current system has led future coalition partners to make unreasonable economic and political demands. . . . If someone is willing to sell out his principles for the job, he is not worthy of it."

The statement was a sharp attack on the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, which in exchange for joining the coalition had been demanding hundreds of millions of dollars in government assistance for its constituents, as well as a promise that Livni would not make any concessions on the future of Jerusalem. Palestinians say East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed, must be the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Shas, with its 12 parliament members, had been part of the government led by Olmert, and had been expected to join a new Livni-led coalition. But on Friday, Shas's 88-year-old spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, decided that the party would not join the coalition unless its demands were met.

"We were not willing to divide Jerusalem," Shas political leader Eli Yishai told Israel TV. "Jerusalem is not for sale."

Israeli analysts said Livni's inability to form a government could make her election campaign more difficult.

"Going to elections was her last choice. But she realized she couldn't put together a government," said Joseph Alpher, the former head of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University. "This is going to hurt her image. It would have been much better for her if she could have gone into the elections with even a few months as prime minister."

Palestinians said they worried that the Israeli election campaign would put the peace process on hold. Following a seven-year hiatus, Israeli-Palestinian negotiations resumed last fall with the Annapolis peace conference.

Livni headed Israel's negotiating team, and in the past few months, both sides had reported progress. Security cooperation has increased, and 550 U.S.-trained Palestinian police deployed in Hebron this weekend, following deployments in Nablus and Jenin.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have also discussed the "core issues" in the conflict, such as final borders, Jewish settlements, the return of Palestinian refugees and the future of Jerusalem.

President Bush had called for at least an outline of an agreement by the end of the year, but both sides had said that was not likely. Olmert had been scheduled to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday, but that meeting has now been postponed.

"We don't want to interfere in Israel's domestic concerns, but early elections means the peace process will be put on hold," said senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. "Previous experience has taught us that before elections in Israel, everyone is focused on the elections and not on the peace process."

Some dovish activists fear that if Netanyahu wins the election, the peace process could be suspended indefinitely.

"This is a disaster for the peace process," said Gershon Baskin, the co-chief executive of a joint Israeli-Palestinian think tank. "If Netanyahu wins, I think we should begin preparing for another round of violence. Livni should have given Shas whatever it asked for and gone ahead with the peace process."

There is little enthusiasm among Israelis for a new round of expensive elections. Estimates are that elections will cost about $150 million. Even before Sunday's events, Israelis had been growing disgusted with their fractious political system, which encourages small parties to make large demands in exchange for support.

If elections are called as expected, Livni will face a challenge from Netanyahu and Labor Party leader Ehud Barak, also a former prime minister. Recent polls have shown Netanyahu and Livni leading, well ahead of Barak.

Alpher said the results of the U.S. election could play a role in the Israeli election.

"The Israeli public wants a prime minister who gets along with the U.S. president," he said. "If Obama wins, and goes ahead with his plan to open a dialogue with Iran and Syria, that could help Livni. If McCain wins, that might help Netanyahu."

Livni had hoped to be the first female Israeli prime minister in more than three decades, and only the second in the country's history. In contrast to Olmert, she projected herself as being above corruption. A lawyer, she began her career in the Israeli foreign intelligence service and entered politics a decade ago.

Crawling south in the dank metre-high passage, you have to hope the crude wooden supports will keep the thick layers of clay and sand above your head from crashing down on to you. Anyone who has been in a narrow-seam coal mine can relate to the mild sense of claustrophobia induced by a visit to Gaza's smugglers' tunnels, in which workers were killed at roughly the rate of three a week last month.

To get to this one, you have to lower yourself down the shaft like an ungainly monkey, gingerly placing your hands and feet on the frustratingly narrow ledges embedded in its also wooden walls. Given the awkward access and the cramped conditions, it's a surprise to see the lights on when you reach your destination. Welcome to the subterranean world below Gaza's border with Egypt.

The light bulbs are run off long cables from Rafah's municipal power supply and in their glow, "Felix", a cheerful 27-year-old black Palestinian, has been using his intercom phone to talk to his Egyptian counterpart at the other end of the tunnel a kilometre away. Beside him, the whirring electric motor is turning the long steel cables, which are hauling canisters of Egyptian-made cooking gas into Gaza. Two hundred have arrived this morning alone. "I spent two years doing a diploma in decoration," Felix says. "But I have five children to support and this is the only work I can find".

Every merchant who buys one of the prized blue canisters will pay a $40 (£25) premium for the difficult and dangerous task of just transporting them, says his boss, Ahmed. But in Gaza, where cooking gas has been virtually unobtainable, the merchants recoup that outlay, selling them on for more than $100. "Everything people lack in Gaza comes through the tunnels," he explains.

The hundreds of tunnels ferry every possible commodity – from diesel fuel, clothing, chocolate, cigarettes and potato chips to cattle and Chinese-made motorcycles. And reportedly even the occasional hospital patient who has been to Egypt for treatment and is then shipped on a trolley and drugged to prevent panic attacks underground.

It's a thought-provoking irony that the tunnel network, which a United Nations report this month said was a "vital lifeline" and the "direct result" of a siege designed to weaken Hamas, is actually now putting money into the Islamic faction's coffers.

A few hundred metres along what is left of the steel wall blown up by Hamas last January, Karim and Eyad are supervising the digging of a new, and deeper, stone and cement shaft. Like the others, it is protected from the weather by a large tent. The two men, both 35, have paid the Hamas-controlled Rafah municipality 10,000 shekels (£1,665) for permission to dig their tunnel, under new regulations.

A lean and patient dun horse repeatedly hauls a decrepit leather bucket of mud from the bottom 20 metres, right under the watchful eyes of Egyptian soldiers in a watchtower just across the border. Eyad explains the difficulties of routing tunnels so that at the other end they will escape the attention of Egyptian forces, who have pledged to destroy them.

"We use Google Earth to plan the tunnel," he says. "We have to find a hidden place, a deserted house or something like that." In constant touch by mobile phone with an Egyptian worker – well paid for risking a prison sentence if he is discovered – and using a long pole, which can protrude above the ground, "we make a sign of where we've got to. Then he tells us, yes that's the right place or move to the left or right, or go another 50 metres."

Rafah's Mayor, Issa al-Nashar, says the new tunnel rules drawn up by Hamas have already resulted in the "registration" of – and levies on – about half of the 400 tunnels here, thought to employ more than 6,000 workers. Hamas officials started inspecting the tunnels last month and have drawn up an agreement under which the owners are required to pay compensation for those injured or killed in them.

The tunnels are a painful inevitability imposed by the siege, Mr Nashar says, adding: "As soon as the crossings are opened, they will be dismantled." The smuggled goods themselves are not being taxed by the Hamas de facto government, he insists, but acknowledges: "This is possible in the future."

For the tunnels are now big business. Karim, who used to work in construction in Israel, says the cost of building his tunnel is about $70,000. "I sold my car, my wife's gold, everything to pay for it." But he hopes to make between $10,000 and $50,000 a month once it is fully working, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, out of which he will have to pay the 20 workers he expects to employ. Ahmed, the boss of the other tunnel, says tunnels that are already operational are now being bought and sold at prices up to $150,000.

While, on the Palestinian side, the tunnels may be operating openly, none of the operators would give their full names. "If we want to go Egypt, we could be arrested," explains Karim. Israel is convinced that Hamas – through more discreet tunnels controlled by the faction – has been bringing weaponry into Gaza, but Karim says he does not to expect to be asked to smuggle arms. "There is no market for them," he insists. "There is a truce with Israel, there isn't fighting between Hamas and Fatah, and there are enough weapons in Gaza already."

Karim, who started to train in Romania as a doctor before the second intifada until he ran out of money, reflects that he would rather be doing something else than a job which has already cost 40 lives this year. Looking down the shaft, he adds: "I may be digging my own grave."

Crawling south in the dank metre-high passage, you have to hope the crude wooden supports will keep the thick layers of clay and sand above your head from crashing down on to you. Anyone who has been in a narrow-seam coal mine can relate to the mild sense of claustrophobia induced by a visit to Gaza's smugglers' tunnels, in which workers were killed at roughly the rate of three a week last month.

To get to this one, you have to lower yourself down the shaft like an ungainly monkey, gingerly placing your hands and feet on the frustratingly narrow ledges embedded in its also wooden walls. Given the awkward access and the cramped conditions, it's a surprise to see the lights on when you reach your destination. Welcome to the subterranean world below Gaza's border with Egypt.

The light bulbs are run off long cables from Rafah's municipal power supply and in their glow, "Felix", a cheerful 27-year-old black Palestinian, has been using his intercom phone to talk to his Egyptian counterpart at the other end of the tunnel a kilometre away. Beside him, the whirring electric motor is turning the long steel cables, which are hauling canisters of Egyptian-made cooking gas into Gaza. Two hundred have arrived this morning alone. "I spent two years doing a diploma in decoration," Felix says. "But I have five children to support and this is the only work I can find".

Every merchant who buys one of the prized blue canisters will pay a $40 (£25) premium for the difficult and dangerous task of just transporting them, says his boss, Ahmed. But in Gaza, where cooking gas has been virtually unobtainable, the merchants recoup that outlay, selling them on for more than $100. "Everything people lack in Gaza comes through the tunnels," he explains.

The hundreds of tunnels ferry every possible commodity – from diesel fuel, clothing, chocolate, cigarettes and potato chips to cattle and Chinese-made motorcycles. And reportedly even the occasional hospital patient who has been to Egypt for treatment and is then shipped on a trolley and drugged to prevent panic attacks underground.

It's a thought-provoking irony that the tunnel network, which a United Nations report this month said was a "vital lifeline" and the "direct result" of a siege designed to weaken Hamas, is actually now putting money into the Islamic faction's coffers.

A few hundred metres along what is left of the steel wall blown up by Hamas last January, Karim and Eyad are supervising the digging of a new, and deeper, stone and cement shaft. Like the others, it is protected from the weather by a large tent. The two men, both 35, have paid the Hamas-controlled Rafah municipality 10,000 shekels (£1,665) for permission to dig their tunnel, under new regulations.

A lean and patient dun horse repeatedly hauls a decrepit leather bucket of mud from the bottom 20 metres, right under the watchful eyes of Egyptian soldiers in a watchtower just across the border. Eyad explains the difficulties of routing tunnels so that at the other end they will escape the attention of Egyptian forces, who have pledged to destroy them.

"We use Google Earth to plan the tunnel," he says. "We have to find a hidden place, a deserted house or something like that." In constant touch by mobile phone with an Egyptian worker – well paid for risking a prison sentence if he is discovered – and using a long pole, which can protrude above the ground, "we make a sign of where we've got to. Then he tells us, yes that's the right place or move to the left or right, or go another 50 metres."

Rafah's Mayor, Issa al-Nashar, says the new tunnel rules drawn up by Hamas have already resulted in the "registration" of – and levies on – about half of the 400 tunnels here, thought to employ more than 6,000 workers. Hamas officials started inspecting the tunnels last month and have drawn up an agreement under which the owners are required to pay compensation for those injured or killed in them.

The tunnels are a painful inevitability imposed by the siege, Mr Nashar says, adding: "As soon as the crossings are opened, they will be dismantled." The smuggled goods themselves are not being taxed by the Hamas de facto government, he insists, but acknowledges: "This is possible in the future."

For the tunnels are now big business. Karim, who used to work in construction in Israel, says the cost of building his tunnel is about $70,000. "I sold my car, my wife's gold, everything to pay for it." But he hopes to make between $10,000 and $50,000 a month once it is fully working, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, out of which he will have to pay the 20 workers he expects to employ. Ahmed, the boss of the other tunnel, says tunnels that are already operational are now being bought and sold at prices up to $150,000.

While, on the Palestinian side, the tunnels may be operating openly, none of the operators would give their full names. "If we want to go Egypt, we could be arrested," explains Karim. Israel is convinced that Hamas – through more discreet tunnels controlled by the faction – has been bringing weaponry into Gaza, but Karim says he does not to expect to be asked to smuggle arms. "There is no market for them," he insists. "There is a truce with Israel, there isn't fighting between Hamas and Fatah, and there are enough weapons in Gaza already."

Karim, who started to train in Romania as a doctor before the second intifada until he ran out of money, reflects that he would rather be doing something else than a job which has already cost 40 lives this year. Looking down the shaft, he adds: "I may be digging my own grave."

Israel moved closer Monday to a bruising election campaign that will decide the future of peace talks, as polls showed the moderate foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, in a surprisingly close race with hard-line opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Neither of Israel's two leading political parties would have enough seats to form a government on its own, according to the surveys, which also showed an even split between the country's hawkish and center-left blocs. That signals more deadlock in peacemaking with Syria and the Palestinians.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad expressed concern Monday that precious time was running out, ''although I still have hope that we can find a solution through negotiation.''

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks were relaunched nearly a year ago at a U.S.-hosted summit, where Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas set a December 2008 target for clinching a final accord. But both leaders have since acknowledged there will be no deal by year's end.

President Shimon Peres began the countdown to new elections at the opening of the winter session of parliament, a day after Livni gave up on her attempts to form a new governing coalition.

''In the coming days, Israel will enter a decisive political campaign,'' Peres told lawmakers.

Peres said elections were inevitable after consulting with the country's other political parties and concluding that no one had the support to form a government. Parliament now has three weeks to dissolve itself. The vote, Israel's third in six years, would take place three months later.

Olmert, who is being forced from office by a series of corruption investigations, said he would remain in office as a caretaker in the meantime.

Israel's ceremonial president is meant to be a unifying figure in this divided country, and Peres used the occasion to appeal to the parties to work together. ''The coming elections can raise Israel up and release it from its various weaknesses,'' he said.

But almost immediately, the signs of division were evident.

Speaking to the same session, Netanyahu unofficially launched his campaign by staking out hardline positions on peace talks with Syria and the Palestinians.

He said that if elected, Israel would keep ''defensible borders,'' and he pledged to retain the Golan Heights. That refusal would make an Israel-Syria agreement impossible. Israel captured the Golan, a strategic plateau overlooking northern Israel, in the 1967 Mideast war.

Netanyahu also said Israel would have to keep large swaths of the West Bank as part of any agreement with the Palestinians, and that all of Jerusalem will remain in Israel's hands.

''We will not negotiate over Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people for the past 3,000 years. I didn't do it in the past and I won't do it in the future,'' said Netanyahu, who was prime minister in the late 1990s.

The speech prompted repeated heckling by dovish and Arab lawmakers.

Speaking to retired Israeli security officials in Tel Aviv, Ahmed Qureia, the Palestinians' chief peace negotiator, said opposition leaders adopt a different tone than politicians in power.

''But I want to say one thing: There will be no peace without Jerusalem,'' he said.

Netanyahu also said no Palestinian refugees would be allowed into Israel under any deal.

The Palestinians want all of the West Bank as part of an independent state, with east Jerusalem as their capital. Israel captured both areas in the 1967 war. They also say Palestinians who were made refugees following Israel's establishment, and their descendants, should be allowed to return to lost properties.

Livni, who has been Israel's chief peace negotiator with the Palestinians over the past year, says Israel must find a settlement to all outstanding issues, including borders, Jerusalem and the refugees.

Netanyahu's Likud Party had a poor showing in the last elections and holds only 12 of parliament's 120 seats. The new polls show the Likud more than doubling its strength, while Livni's Kadima holds steady.

A poll by the Dahaf Research Institute showed Livni's Kadima Party winning 29, the same number it has now, and Netanyahu's Likud taking 26 if elections were held today. A TNS Teleseker survey gave Kadima 31 seats to Likud's 29.

The Dahaf poll of 500 people had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points. The TNS survey of more than 900 people put the maximum margin of error at two parliamentary seats.

Livni took the helm of the Kadima Party last month in a primary election forced by multiple corruption allegations against Olmert. She tried to avoid elections by keeping the current government intact, but one partner, the 12-seat ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, pressed new demands she said she could not accept.

The poll results indicated that Israelis were not punishing Livni for failing to form a coalition and supportive of her refusal to cave in to what she called political blackmail.

Palestinians may not have a state, but now they have a way to express their national pride -- through soccer.

On Sunday, the national team hosted an international match for the first time, in the West Bank's only regulation-size stadium. Located in a West Bank suburb of Jerusalem, the stadium was renovated with the help of FIFA, soccer's governing body, and other donors.

Thousands watched the friendly game against Jordan, and the crowd roared as Palestinian forward Ahmed Kashkash scored several minutes after kickoff. Jordan tied early in the second half. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter was on hand to cheer. ''We are here to realize a dream, that is the national team of Palestine playing in its own stadium,'' Blatter said, calling the event ''historic.''

Some said the international recognition was important. ''We now have a stadium, and the Palestinian flag will be flying in this stadium,'' Wissam Abu Sharif, a 30-year-old Palestinian soccer fan, said ahead of the game. ''Palestine is on the map of international sports.''

It's not a soccer powerhouse, though. The Palestinian team is ranked 180th of 207 members by FIFA. It peaked at No. 115 in April 2006.

Still, for an afternoon, soccer promised to make Palestinians forget their troubles, whether decades of Israeli military occupation or the acrimonious split between the West Bank, controlled by moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

In a joint pre-game news conference with Blatter, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad urged more foreign teams to play in the Palestinian territories. ''This is a sign of solidarity, it's a message of solidarity with the Palestinian people during a time of hardship,'' Fayyad said.

Gaza's prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, said the game was an opportunity to bridge the rift among Palestinians. ''I hope this game can pave the road to restoring the internal Palestinian relations and bring them back on track,'' said Haniyeh, a former amateur player, as he watched the game in his Gaza City home along with two sons, a Cabinet minister and several bodyguards.

A spokesman for the Israeli Football Association, meanwhile, said Israel's national team had no immediate plans to play in the Ram Stadium, but noted that Israeli and Palestinian players formed a team last year to face Real Madrid.

''Every time we are asked to show football can be a bridge to bring people together, we do so and we have done in the past,'' Gil Lebanony said.

Blatter started the day at the headquarters of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, where he laid a wreath on the grave of Abbas' predecessor, Yasser Arafat. The two men then opened a tournament of six women's teams. Some of the female players wore headscarves with their uniforms.

Blatter then attended the Jordan-Palestine match at the 6,000-seat stadium in Ram, close to Israel's West Bank separation barrier. The Palestinian team has existed for a decade, but until now had played its ''home'' games in Jordan and Qatar.

On Sunday morning, workers were putting the finishing touches on a $4 million renovation. A bulldozer smoothed a dirt approach road while workers hung banners naming the game's sponsors.

The Palestinian team boasts players from Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Chile, but not all will play. Five of the team's six Gazan players were granted permits by Israel to travel to the West Bank, but the team's captain, Saeb Jundiyeh, was not.

''I am full of anger and sadness because I was denied being there for this historic event which I have always dreamed about,'' Jundiyeh said.

He added that he was in phone contact with his teammates and would watch the match with friends and family in Gaza.

Israel and Egypt have virtually sealed off Gaza from the world since the Islamic militant Hamas seized control of the territory in June 2007. Gaza and the West Bank lie on opposite sides of Israel, and Gazans need Israeli permits to reach the West Bank.

The olive harvest was off to a bad start for Said Abu Aliya -- branches torn from the Palestinian farmer's trees lay scattered on the ground, along with bright-green olives.

He blamed Israeli settlers in a nearby hilltop camp, and Israeli soldiers patrolled as a buffer while he and his family picked the remaining crop.

''Without their presence, we wouldn't be able to enter our lands because the settlers would attack us,'' said the 47-year-old.

For many Palestinians, the fall harvest of some 10 million trees used to be a joyful ritual steeped in tradition. But the West Bank's olive groves have increasingly become a target of extremist Jewish settlers who, hilltop by hilltop, seek to expand their control over land they say they were promised by God.

Just in the first two weeks of this season, farmers say, assailants beat a 63-year-old olive picker, slashed another man's car tires, tried to chase Palestinians out of several groves and stole or damaged some of the crop. In one incident captured on video, four settlers punched and kicked a Palestinian photographer and a foreign activist in an olive grove.

Compounding the farmers' problems, more trees are harder to reach because they lie beyond Israel's lengthening West Bank separation barrier or close to Jewish settlements and their multiplying satellite camps.

Israeli human rights activists say securing the harvest is an important test of Israel's obligation as an occupying power to protect Palestinians. They say the military and police are doing a better job than in the past, but have failed to protect crops or bring vigilantes to justice.

This week Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas complained that the army isn't doing its job, raising questions about whether Israel is serious about peace with Palestinians. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak denounced those attacking farmers as ''hooligans,'' but said troops are making a major effort to protect farmers. The military said soldiers have been briefed about the importance of the harvest, jeeps patrol trouble areas and officers are given maps to rule on ownership disputes.

In the past, Israeli troops have destroyed thousands of Palestinian olive trees along roadsides to protect against snipers and stone throwers. Palestinians still complain that settlers are often given free rein by the military. For example, the settlers who were filmed attacking the photographer were allowed to walk away, while police arrested three Israelis helping with the harvest for entering a ''closed military area.''

A settler leader, Yitzhak Shadmi, dismissed reports of vandalism as staged.

Growing numbers of Israelis and foreigners are flocking to the groves to help the farmers. Yaakov Manor's Harvest Coalition helped arrange West Bank trips for hundreds of Israelis last year.

Thousands of Palestinians take part in the harvest, with students given time off to help and professionals returning to their villages. Olive oil is a food staple, and even the leftovers from the oil presses are used as fuel.

The economic benefits are relatively modest -- about $100 million from an expected 21,000 tons of olive oil this year -- but the extra income reaches some 100,000 families. For some, it's just pocket money, for others enough to plan a wedding or build a house.

Near the village of Burin, Amneh Abdel Qader sat on a tarpaulin under a tree, as her son, daughter-in-law and three grandsons combed the branches with handheld rakes. The olives tumbled onto the tarp, and the 70-year-old sorted them, the plumpest for eating and the rest for oil.

''We used to bring a radio and have fun, sing and enjoy ourselves,'' Abdel Qader said. ''But from the day they came,'' she said, referring to Israeli settlements near her village, ''we can't relax anymore.''

Burin's farmers can only reach lands near the settlements of Yitzhar and Bracha with special coordination from security forces. Farmers say they're allowed to visit those areas only twice a year, for planting and harvesting, and that they need more access to hang traps for olive flies, prune branches and clear underbrush.

Israel's Civil Administration, the branch of the military dealing with the Palestinians' day-to-day life, denied any quota on visits, but a senior official said the idea is to keep settlers and farmers away from each other.

''You can smell the fuel in the air,'' the official said on condition of anonymity, in line with briefing regulations. ''We don't want to have a situation where the olive harvest is setting off the atmosphere again.''

At times, there's also lack of coordination within the military.

In the village of Naalin this month, near Israel's separation barrier, border police fired tear gas and stun grenades as villagers and volunteers tried to reach a grove. The army had given a permit for the Naalin harvest but apparently not briefed the border police, said Rabbi Arik Ascherman of Rabbis for Human Rights. Several Israelis were injured and three detained, he said.

The Palestinian olive harvest falls about 5 to 10 percent short of its potential every year because of settler violence and Israeli restrictions, estimated Palestinian economist Samir Hleileh. Israel requires permits for villagers who have land in the roughly 10 percent of the West Bank swallowed up on the ''Israeli'' side of the barrier.

Eighty percent of the people who used to work these lands no longer get permits, according to U.N. monitors.

Mohammed Jabareen, mayor of the village of Taibeh, which has 250 dunams (60 acres) of land beyond the barrier, said landowners have received permits, but not all of the workers needed for the harvest. The army says it's issuing extra permits during the harvest.

Some are trying to improve output by teaching farmers how to grow premium oils for export. Industrialist Bassem Khoury has invested in a premium oil storage facility with 30 steel vats, even though business prospects are uncertain.

''To me,'' he said, ''the olive tree is a symbol of Palestine.''

Israeli security forces have apprehended a Hamas operative whom they say planned to capture Israeli soldiers and smuggle them into the Gaza Strip to be used in future prisoner swaps, the army said on Sunday. An army spokesman said Israeli troops and intelligence agents arrested Gamal Abu Duabah, a 21-year-old Gaza resident, on September 21 after he attempted to infiltrate Israel from Egypt.

"Under questioning he admitted to being part of a Hamas plot to kidnap Israeli soldiers," the spokesman said. "He also mentioned that he was sent by seniors in the Hamas organization who trained his squad and funded its operations, seniors with whom he kept in direct and continuous contact."

The Islamist Hamas movement - which seized power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007 after having won legislative elections in 2006 - is blacklisted as a "terrorist" group in the West.

In June 2006 militants from Hamas and two smaller Palestinian groups seized Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a deadly cross-border raid.

The army said Abu Duabah sneaked into Egypt from Gaza through a smuggling tunnel and spent several weeks in the Sinai planning the operation.

During his interrogation he allegedly said he planned to lure Israeli soldiers to the border with an apparent drug smuggling operation, then seize them, put them under with sleeping pills, and smuggle them back into the Gaza Strip.

Israel and Hamas agreed to an Egypt-brokered truce in June which has brought a virtual halt to the rocket strikes Palestinians used to launch into Israel in retaliation for attacks by the Jewish state.

Hamas has accused Israel of violating the truce by not lifting its crippling sanctions on the territory and Israel has charged Hamas with using the lull to rearm and plan future attacks.

Also Sunday, a senior Israeli defense official named several Palestinian prisoners out of the 1,400 demanded by Hamas in exchange for Shalit.

But while Israel has agreed in principle to release several hundred Palestinians, it has so far refused to include a list of about 450 prisoners it accuses of violence.

The list includes Abbas Asid and Fathi Abu Sheikh, two of the accused planners of a suicide bombing attack in a hotel in the coastal Israeli town of Netanya that killed 29 civilians on the eve of the Jewish Passover holiday in April 2002.

Other names include Mohammad Arman, allegedly behind suicide attacks which killed 35 people, and Makram Abu Fanuna, sentenced to three life terms for the killing of three Israeli civilians.

Another prisoner on the list, which was first published by Channel 2 news, is Abed al-Rahdi Anas, who in 1989 drove a bus off a cliff between Tel Aviv and Occupied Jerusalem, killing 14 people, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Negotiations on a prisoner exchange have made little progress so far, as Israel remains reluctant to release prisoners it accuses of having "blood on their hands." - AFP

Jewish colonists desecrate Muslim graves during rampage over closure of unsanctioned settlement

HEBRON, Occupied West Bank: Dozens of Jewish settlers rampaged through the Occupied West Bank town of Hebron on Sunday after Israeli troops removed a nonsanctioned settlement outpost, Palestinian residents said.

Witnesses said the settlers hurled rocks at houses, vandalized several Muslim graves in a local cemetery and slashed the tires of cars belonging to Palestinian residents near the Kiryat Arba settlement.

The violence broke out after Israeli security forces removed several colonists from a building outside an existing settlement.

"A settlement outpost was evacuated and several settlers were arrested," an Israeli military spokesman said. Army Radio said five settlers had been arrested and charged with assaulting soldiers.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and violate the Jewish state's obligations under numerous UN Security Council resolutions.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak slammed the settlers' actions, but also accused the legal system of leniency toward Jewish colonists in the Occupied West Bank.

"I would like to underline the severity of the actions and statements made by the extreme right in the territories," Barak's office quoted him as saying at a weekly cabinet meeting. "I believe that the punishment is too soft and that the legal and justice system must pay attention to that," the former army chief said.

Despite repeated reports of settler violence, few arrests or convictions are made by Israel.

The incident came a day after more than 500 Palestinian police reinforcements fanned out across the town as part of a widening security crackdown to bolster stalled US-backed peace talks.

It also comes amid a surge in settler violence directed against Palestinians and Israeli security forces.

With more than 160,000 Palestinian residents, Hebron is the largest town in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank and has long been a regional flashpoint because of an illegal colony of around 800 hard-line colonists in the heart of the town.

The settlement is surrounded by hundreds of Israeli soldiers who remain in Hebron despite the additional Palestinian forces, which will only patrol Palestinian neighborhoods and villages.

Can you give our readers a view of the current Palestinian economic situation, from the ground?

I would start by putting that question in some context. After the year 2000 and the outbreak of the Second Intifada, you had a major deterioration in the economic situation in the West Bank and Gaza. And when you talk about the economic situation and the impact that it has on people, you cannot fully disaggregate it from the larger political and security situation, because the macroeconomic figures don’t always tell the whole story. To give an example: you can have a situation in which statistical indicators may actually indicate that things are getting better, but if other elements of the entire situation are not improving, for example, the security situation, the rule of law, the sense of the weight of the occupation, then the perception continues for Palestinians that life is not getting better. So we are in a situation now where clearly there is an improvement taking place in the West Bank, but that isn’t always perceived as such in certain areas, in large part because the other elements haven’t come to fruition or haven’t improved in the same way.

If you take the situation in Nablus, for example, there’s a lot taking place there in terms of economic improvement, but the original concept whereby the Palestinian security services would take over has not been fully realized. So the perception about an improvement in the economic situation hasn’t caught up with reality because people still do not believe that they are in control. In Jenin, in contrast, you are starting to see the situation improving and the perception is starting to catch up with the reality at the micro-level. But we must remember the context: you have a situation where you had a prolonged period of tremendous violence and bloodshed, where the economic situation had deteriorated significantly. That deterioration has been arrested, and we are now seeing a gradual improvement in the situation and we’re pulling out of that protracted dip.

So you are seeing signs of improvement in different places. In Bethlehem, tourism has picked up significantly. In Jenin, where there’s been a big international effort put forward, you now have some 120 projects that are funded by the international community, worth about $95 million, in addition to the significant number of micro-projects that the Palestinian Authority is putting into place. This effort extends throughout the northern West Bank. So there is now a growing recognition among Palestinians that things are changing and that the Palestinian Authority is improving the conditions and the lives of people. But, that has to be married with a perception that Palestinian leadership is taking control over Palestinian peoples’ lives in all spheres. That’s not just an economic issue but it’s also an issue of providing law and order and, ultimately, security. That’s why you can’t disaggregate the economics from the security.

What role has your team staked out within that context? Tony Blair was sent out as special envoy for the Quartet with a primarily capacity-building mandate, but he has also, as you just mentioned, always talked about the connection between economic, security and political progress.

The role of the mission here is to help the Palestinians in their efforts to create the conditions for an independent and democratic Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace and security, which is quite a large agenda. You have on one track political negotiations between the top leaderships in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, talking about political issues related to final status. That track represents the top-down element of the state-building process. But to complement that is the bottom-up approach, which involves actually changing conditions on the ground and helping to build Palestinian institutions and capacity. We see our role as providing that bottom-up support to the Palestinian Authority in its efforts to reform, build capacity and exert its leadership.

This will then help the negotiations, because it shows Palestinians that things are actually changing. Without that change, it’s hard for people to believe that negotiations in closed rooms are actually going to succeed and lead to an improvement in their lives. There is a great deal of disenchantment and cynicism about the prospects of a negotiated peace. In order for people to have greater confidence that those negotiations can actually produce an improvement in their lives they have to see the changes in their day-to-day lives. That is why this kind of bottom-up approach helps support the negotiations.

But it also helps create the reality. So when the negotiations are ripe and there is an agreement on the terms for a Palestinian state, the infrastructure, and I use that term broadly, will be in place for Palestinian institutions to take over ruling the state of Palestine. At the broadest level, that’s what we’re trying to do.

More immediately, we’ve identified a few core areas where we can lead that effort, which reflect the different elements that are part of the Palestinian state-building agenda. One element of it is economic and social development. A second element is helping to lift the access and movement restrictions, which are so critical to there being any kind of economic improvement to the situation on the ground. If you look at the studies produced by all the various international institutions that look at this problem, be it the World Bank, the United Nations, the IMF, everyone comes to the same conclusion, which is that the access and movement limitations and restrictions place a tremendous burden on the abilities of the Palestinians to improve their lives. A third area that we have focused on is that part of the territory of the West Bank that in the Oslo framework is referred to as “Area C.” Israel retains military and civil control of Area C, which makes up some 60 percent of the West Bank. We have focused on a number of steps that have helped place Area C, which has long been neglected, back on the international agenda. And the fourth element has to be helping Palestinians to improve their security capabilities and performance. And to do that, since we are not in the business of security training, we are working very closely with General Dayton and his team, who are focused on training and reforming the Palestinian security forces so that they are in a position to, if you will, retake control of parts of the West Bank, with reformed and newly capable Palestinian security forces.

And again that takes me to the whole issue of Jenin and the northern West Bank, where it all has come together as a type of pilot project. The goal is for the northern West Bank to be an economic and security area in which the Palestinians retake control of their lives. This then allows the Israelis to pull back and return control. So that’s why Jenin and the northern West Bank have been an area of particular international focus. Because rather than try to take on the whole West Bank at once—although there are things we are doing throughout the West Bank—by focusing on the northern West Bank, an area where you have very few settlements, it’s an easier and simpler proposition than in other parts of the West Bank where Israeli and Palestinian population areas are co-mingled.

Aside from Jenin, which you’ve given as a big example, what other progress has your team made, or have you made in concert with other envoys on the ground? And what do you think are the main challenges that you face?

There are a number of tracks we are pursuing. In May, the Quartet representative, Mr. Blair, reached a series of understandings with the Israeli government on steps that the Israelis could take to help improve the conditions on the ground for the Palestinians without harming Israeli security needs. This encompassed a range of activities, and we have seen some real progress.

If you take it topic by topic, if you look at the issue of checkpoints for example, we all know that there are hundreds of checkpoints and roadblocks that are interspersed throughout the West Bank and many in the international community have focused on those numbers. What we have tried to do is focus on an overall concept of how do you improve the flow and movement of peoples and goods within and throughout the West Bank. And what we came to realize is that if you identify a few key checkpoints that are real chokeholds and remove them, then you can actually improve significantly the flow of goods and people without affecting Israeli security.

Part of the agreement we reached with the Israelis was the removal of a few key checkpoints within the West Bank. One of them was Shavei-Shomron, which is now open during the day, and the result of that, although it is only one of hundreds, is strategically important because it means that the flow between Nablus and Jenin is now open and trade and people can move unimpeded. We’ve also seen the opening of Kvasim, another important checkpoint, and the checkpoint at Halhul Bridge. So one basket of issues in which we’ve seen improvement is the increased flow within the West Bank. This was recognized in the recent meetings of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee in New York, where international organizations acknowledged that the situation has improved. However, this is just the beginning, and I don’t want to overstate it, as there are still significant steps that need to be taken and some of the checkpoints that the Israelis agreed to remove have not yet been removed.

Secondly, within that basket of checkpoints, there are a few checkpoints where we asked the Israelis to improve the flow because these had become real bottlenecks for the movement of people. So if you take a checkpoint like Hawara, which blocks movement in and out of Nablus, expanding capacity there can have a significant impact on the economic situation in and around the city. So, we reached an agreement with the Israelis that the throughput at Hawara would be improved. This is something that we don’t expect the Palestinians to welcome because they don’t want to see checkpoints improved, they want to see them removed and that’s completely understandable and that is the long-term goal. But as a short-term goal, if the movement of goods and people can improve, then this can have a significant impact on the overall situation.

Another area that was part of this package was the agreement between the Palestinian Authority and the government of Israel to allow a second mobile operator, Wataniya, to begin operations. This has already brought badly needed revenues to the Palestinian Authority. It also breaks the monopoly on cell phone usage in the Palestinian territories, will reduce tariffs and create many jobs. So this is an important development.

We are also making continued and significant progress on the North Gaza sewage project, which the Quartet office has been working very hard to help facilitate. Within a few weeks, the work on phase one of the project will be completed, and it will become operational prior to the rainy season. Once it becomes operational, it will begin to divert the sewage away from the dangerous sewage lake that has previously flooded and killed several Palestinians.

And as I said, the international community now has about 120 projects that are active or in train in Jenin and the northern West Bank area. And here, as a result of discussions with the Israelis, they are now allowing Israeli Arabs to visit and to go through the Jalameh crossing into Jenin. This is bringing some commerce and business back to Jenin from Israeli Arabs who had played a major role in the Jenin and northern West Bank economy prior to the outbreak of the Intifada, when that connection was cut off. However, Israeli Arabs are still prevented from taking their cars into Jenin and this limits the potential economic benefit. So we are now in discussions with the government of Israel on ways in which Israeli Arabs can bring their cars in and out of the northern West Bank and we believe that this will have tremendous economic benefit.

We have also had recent success in persuading the Israeli government to allow hard currency to move into Gaza. There’s been a monthly problem in which there has been a shortage of cash reserves in banks—not controlled by Hamas—in Gaza, which has made it difficult for Prime Minister Fayyad to pay Palestinian Authority employees in Gaza. If the cash reaches below a certain threshold the banking system throughout the Palestinian Authority is put under threat. This is understandably a real problem for the Israelis in that you have a situation in which Hamas has taken over Gaza and there is a perception on the Israeli side that allowing the cash to go into Gaza helps Hamas. Our analysis is that, because of the "alternative" economy that Hamas has put into place in Gaza with the tunnels, cash shortages actually benefit Hamas because they allow Hamas money changers to take advantage and to actually arbitrage the gap in the exchange rate to their benefit. So by bringing cash into Gaza we’re actually trying to take that tool away from Hamas and put it back into the banking system that still falls under the authority of the Palestinian Authority. These are a few of the positive changes that we have helped to effectuate recently.

And what are the challenges that you find in working towards these goals or on these projects?

Probably the biggest challenge is the fact that after a prolonged period of violence and a breakdown in contact between Israelis and Palestinians, there’s a profound lack of trust on both sides. Both Israelis and Palestinians have lost a lot of the hope that they once had about the possibilities for change and the possibilities for peace. And so one of our biggest challenges is overcoming that psychological barrier and trying to demonstrate that, in fact, the connective tissue that had existed and had been very effective can be reconnected, if you will. It’s completely understandable, given the violent experience, that such skepticism exists. But what it leads to is a tendency on both sides to ascribe the worst intentions to every action the other side takes, even at times when that isn’t the intent.

For Israelis, there is a core need for a sense that the Palestinians are addressing seriously the issue of security. It is important for Israelis to have a sense that law and order exists and that they can trust a future Palestinian state to be a peaceful neighbor.

Similarly Palestinians are very skeptical that the occupation actually can end, and will end, and that peaceful coexistence will lead to the realization of their political aspirations, and that that they will be entrusted with real authority to run their own lives. And so the biggest challenge we face is simply keeping both sides focused on the work that needs to be done and helping them see that taking the steps that need to be taken will actually lead to a benefit for each of them in the future.

And how do you go about getting that kind of buy in?

Well, there’s no shortcut. It’s part of the day-to-day dialogue that you have with both sides. Often times, it is simply a function of passing messages between the two sides or trying to get one side to understand what the other side’s core need really is. At times it’s been as simple as getting one side to actually pick up the phone and call the other side, at which point some problems have been solved. For me personally, here as the head of the Quartet mission, as someone who has been dealing with this issue for a number of years, I’ve been struck by just how important it is to have a third-party presence at times to facilitate contact between the two sides. Sometimes, when left to their own devices, those contacts would not be established. Again I can’t overstate the psychological and real physical scars that the Intifada has left on both sides, such that there’s a great deal of reluctance to really engage the other, and sometimes it just requires some basic encouragement from trusted third parties.

Considering that there’s going to be a political transition in the United States, there’s one taking place in Israel now and there will be some future transition in the Palestinian Authority, how do you ensure the smooth transition of these efforts?

I think for the Quartet mission, our agenda is clear and in many ways unaffected by political developments. Our agenda is to continue the day-to-day engagement with both sides to lead to the changes on the ground that need to take place. And it is all the more important, at a time of transition, that those efforts continue. What we’re doing is helping to keep the forward momentum that exists moving. And so we will be here and we will work through this transition with all the parties.

You work for one Quartet, but essentially it consists of four different players who don’t always see eye-to-eye on everything. How do you handle that challenge?

I think one of the remarkable things about the Quartet has been the degree to which, despite the Israeli-Palestinian issue being one of the most contentious in international politics, there is unanimity in the Quartet about the core goals and pathways. I mean, there is an international consensus now that there should be a Palestinian state living side-by-side with Israel in peace and security. The Road Map has been adopted by Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the vast majority of the international community, as the appropriate way forward. These are the core building blocks established by the Quartet. It has been remarkably pleasant to be part of an international body in which there really is a lack of contentiousness, even between parties where on other issues there are fundamental differences. But on this issue it’s the absence of disagreement that is really striking.

If there is basically a consensus about what should happen, what can the different actors in the international community, be it the United States government, the Europeans or the neighbors, do to improve the situation?

What’s remarkable is how many interested parties there are. This is a conflict that people throughout the world care about seeing resolved, seeing the situation improved. So you have an outpouring of good will that exists and the desire on many parts to help. And so the question then is, how do you synchronize that good will in a way that is most effective? That’s probably one of the biggest challenges we face—to try and take all that good will and coordinate it and mobilize it and channel it toward the goals that we all share. But this is an embarrassment of riches. You have countries from the West, from the East, from the immediate neighborhood, all of whom are taking increased interest in providing increased political as well as economic support towards changing the conditions on the ground.

If I can just come back to the northern West Bank and Jenin once again, this is, I think, one example of where the international community has come together in a very positive way to provide support and to help facilitate a changed reality and a changed way of doing things, both for Israel and the Palestinian Authority. You now have a situation where Palestinian security forces have moved effectively into the northern West Bank. And you have on the Israeli side recognition that something fundamental has changed— that the Palestinians have begun to demonstrate that they’re capable of handling the security challenges that exist there. If you recall, Jenin and Nablus had been two of the biggest centers of unrest and sources of violence during the Intifada. So these are not insignificant areas. These are large challenges. And yet the Palestinian Authority has demonstrated that it is up to the challenge and the Israelis recognize it.

But all recognize that there’s no magic formula or one step towards expanding that effort towards the rest of the West Bank. It’s a slow, painful, step-by-step process of building capacity across the board—be it in electricity, be it in water, be it in sanitation, as well as in the areas of security, politics, governance, rule of law. So it’s a large task, but the international community has shown an admirable commitment to helping the Israelis and the Palestinians try to realize a peaceful outcome and a peaceful change to what is a very difficult situation on the ground.

You have Tony Blair, a very high-profile person at the head of your mission. What kind of an advantage do you think that gives, to have such a person who is so high-profile? What does he do when he’s on the ground and what does he do when he’s not there?

He is engaged on this issue daily, whether he is in the region or not. He is in constant contact with Israelis and Palestinians, as well as with his team, asking what we are doing and ensuring that we are following through on the things that he has set in train when he visits the region, which is about, on average, a week of every month. Having been prime minister of Britain for ten years and having established close relationships with both the leaderships in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, as well as throughout the Middle East and the international community at large, he is uniquely placed to help bring about change and encourage people to take positive steps. He is a huge asset to the Quartet, along with a group of very talented and dedicated people from the international community. But more than anything, Tony Blair has the access, the knowledge, the experience, in dealing with this issue, in dealing with conflict issues, in dealing with the leaders throughout the world that are interested in seeing the situation improved and helping to use all those tools at his disposal to making things happen on the ground. And, as I said, he is in daily contact with us and with people in the international community and on the phone with the leadership in Israel and the leadership in the Palestinian Authority on a regular basis to that end.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sent hundreds of security officers into Hebron on Saturday as part of a Western-backed campaign to strengthen his control over the occupied West Bank.

Israel, which is trying to bolster Abbas against his Hamas rivals, approved the deployment of some 550 armed officers in the biggest West Bank city, a frequent flashpoint between Palestinians and Jewish settlers.

"We are serious and willing to arrest anyone who disturbs law and order ... starting with illegal armed groups and whoever deals with illegal arms," said Samih al-Saifi, the Palestinian security chief for the Hebron area.

Abbas is under pressure to assert control over the West Bank so U.S.-sponsored talks with Israel can progress. Abbas's administration complains about Israeli intervention in the deployment of its forces, and that continued Israeli raids in the West Bank undermine its credibility.

Hamas Islamists seized the Gaza Strip after routing Abbas's forces in 2007. Abbas then sacked a Hamas-led government and appointed a new administration in the West Bank, where his Fatah faction remains dominant.

Palestinian officials said Abbas had postponed a meeting scheduled for Monday with outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose Kadima party leaders are busy trying to forge a new government coalition.

An Israeli security source said the Palestinian deployment in Hebron had been coordinated with the Israeli army and that the Palestinian force would not be allowed to intervene in areas where Jewish settlers live.

"They are meant to police the community and strengthen the Palestinian Authority's ability to fight Hamas," the source said.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the deployment was part of a campaign that has been successful in other West Bank cities.

"Without enforcing law and order, the Palestinians can't live a sustainable life and have a sustainable economy," Fayyad said.

Some 650 heavily guarded Jewish settlers live in the Israeli-controlled section of Hebron, among about 30,000 Palestinians. About 180,000 Palestinians live in the city overall.

There is no comfortable solution for the Palestinians to repair their domestic affairs other than the leaders abandoning their ambitions to lead. This is a fact that has been known for a long time. However, the problem is how to convince all these leaders when it's apparent how happy Hamas is with its sovereignty over Gaza, and its readiness to give everything to preserve it; the same applies to the others.

The fact is that the Palestinian president has proposed a negotiations' plan that offers an opportunity for a Palestinian Government without parties or leaders, because he proposed the formation of a technocrat government, i.e. ministers would be experts and not politicians or party members. Therefore, the government would be neither a Fatah nor a Hamas government, and the Palestinians would live in happiness and amicability, and would dedicate themselves to the achievement of two important issues: the first is managing their daily affairs, and the second is leaving the leaders to work on designing a peace plan for themselves, and also a peace plan with the Israelis.

I cannot imagine that this idea, which is assumed to satisfy everybody because it respects everybody, will be approved easily unless Hamas understands that there is only a short way to go on the road along which they are proceeding. Hamas has lived a difficult life, and has tried everything in order to establish a permanent position for itself on the ground; this includes a peace plan that is very generous to the Israelis, with the exception that it calls the plan a truce for 18 years in which it relinquishes Jerusalem, the refugees, and the borders in exchange for the Israelis to leave the Palestinians to fight each other while they live in peace without interference. At the time Hamas held a truce with Israel, it tried to engage in skirmishes with the Egyptians, and to drag them into a confrontation with the Palestinians and the Israelis; this attempt nearly succeeded in changing the map and not only the government in Gaza.

Now Hamas has three options that can give it something better than an isolated government. Either it accepts simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections, and leaves it to the Palestinian people in the beginning of the New Year to decide who will be president and who will be prime minister; accepts a technocrat government that in reality represents a major concession by Abu-Mazin who will suffer from the exclusion of his politicians who are ministers from it; or as a last resort accepts the extension of the presidential term of Abu-Mazin for another year so that the election of the new president takes place at the same time as the elections for the Legislative Council.

Most probably the majority of Hamas members will accept all the three solutions if their leadership gives them the opportunity to choose. However, Hamas will not accept this, or rather cannot accept this, because its decision is neither in the hand of Haniyeh, Khalid Mishal, or any other senior leader, but it is in the hand of Damascus and Tehran. These two capitals will sell out the decision-making of Hamas as part of the first concessions demanded by the European or other negotiators. This is because practically Hamas is a cheaper card compared to Lebanon, or to the Israeli nuclear program.

I have heard an individual affiliated to Hamas admitting that they are worried because of the public auction in Syria, and they expect at any moment to be asked to leave for somewhere else away from Damascus. If this were to happen, it would be in the interest of Hamas, because it would restore its control to it, and would allow it to indeed negotiate according to its program on whose basis it fought the Palestinian elections in the beginning, before its decision was hijacked, and its steps became incompatible with its program. Hamas now is in a truce with Israel, at war with Fatah, reconciled with the Iranians, and in a hostile state toward the Egyptians and the Gulf countries.

Jewish settlers have gone on a rampage in the West Bank, vandalising a Muslim cemetery and threatening Israeli troops.

Settlers from the Harat al-Jabari neighbourhood in the city of Hebron were responding on Sunday to the dismantling a West Bank outpost by the Israeli army.

Four settlers were arrested, including one for allegedly injuring a policeman and two who are suspected of trying to set fire to police cars, police officials said.

Settlers also slashed the tyres of two dozen Arab-owned cars and sprayed paint on Muslim graves, the Israeli military said.

One resident, speaking on Israel Army Radio, called for revenge attacks against the Israeli soldiers.

Ehud Olmert, the outgoing Israeli prime minister, called for a crackdown on the settlers involved and told his cabinet that such violence would not be accepted.

"We will not show any tolerance concerning such comments, and concerning such actions," he said at Sunday's cabinet meeting.

"We are fed up with this verbal violence."

Micky Rosenfeld, an Israeli police spokesman, said that an investigation had been opened.

The outpost bulldozed by the Israeli army had been built without government authority and was lived in by Noam Federman, a ultranationalist settler leader.

Hebron has long been a pressure point of relations between Israeli's and Palestinians in the West Bank.

Israeli human rights groups and senior military officials have said that violence against Palestinians by the some of the 300,000 settlers in the West Bank has increased in recent months.

Major General Gadi Shamni, an Israeli army commander, said last month that hundreds of settlers were now carrying out attacks.

Critics have previously said settlers have been allowed to act with impunity in the West Bank, especially with regards to violence against Palestinians.

One of the conditions of a US-sponsored peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians demands that settlement activity be frozen and dozens of the about 100 settlements on land deemed necessary for a Palestinian state are dismantled.

Settlers' resolve to keep outposts in the West Bank has strengthened since Israel removed its settlements from Gaza in 2005.

Ideological settlers believe God promised the West Bank to the Jews, although not all agree on the use of violence to attain territory.

A settler who apparently made comments calling to kill soldiers distributed an apology letter Monday, saying he was "in a stormy mood" when he made the comments on Sunday.

"I didn't speak generally against IDF soldiers," said Kiryat Arba resident Shmuel Ben Yishai in the letter, having been quoted in the media as saying, "God damn the IDF forces. We wish they would be destroyed by their enemies, that all of them would be Gilad Schalit, that they would all be killed and slaughtered, because that's what they deserve."

In Ben Yishai's letter, he apologized for his words, but said the he "hopes that the Holy One, blessed be he, will avenge those who are involved in evacuation [of settlements]"

The Attorney-General's Office on Sunday, meanwhile, ordered a criminal investigation into the extremist settlers' comments.

The settlers spoke to Army Radio in the aftermath of an IDF evacuation, shortly after midnight, of a small unauthorized outpost tucked into a back corner of the West Bank town of Kiryat Arba.

"This is an army that protects Hamas and Palestine. It is the army that established Palestine, the army that hands over weapons to Palestine, that sacrifices Jewish blood to establish Palestine, and this is what ought to happen," one unnamed settler said.

A second settler said, "We ought to carry out an attack of revenge against the IDF."

Outraged by the comments, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called for the settlers who made these comments to be punished with the full severity of the law.

"Whoever speaks out against IDF soldiers belongs in jail and in judicial proceedings. We will show no tolerance toward such expressions and actions," said Olmert.

"We are sick of this verbal violence, which either leads to or affects other violence. We know this from the past. In no way will I allow this to continue in the future, and we will see to it that it stops forthwith."

He added that he had instructed Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann and Public Security Minister Avi Dichter to act immediately to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The IDF also weighed in on the matter and asked Shai Nitzan, who heads the Special Tasks Division of the State Attorney's Office, to press charges.

An IDF officer said that the army viewed the comments gravely and was "concerned that without legal action, violence and incitement will continue."

Shortly afterward, Nitzan ordered the police to open a criminal investigation against those settlers who spoke out, on suspicion of incitement to violence.

This is a very serious matter, said Raz Nazri, a senior aide to Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz, in a letter he wrote to Meretz MK Avshalom Vilan.

These statements, Nazri wrote, "crossed a red line and could not be considered to be protected by the principle of freedom of expression, even if this protection is extremely broad."

Nazri told Vilan these statements "were exceptional in their gravity, and therefore we decided to deviate from our usual policy and order police to open a criminal investigation against those who made them."

Judea and Samaria Police spokesman Ch.-Supt. Danny Poleg told The Jerusalem Post, "It's too early to talk about arrests. The journalists who interviewed the settlers know who the suspects are, but they enjoy journalistic immunity. The comments are on the Internet, and the question of who made them is not a state secret. It's a matter of time before we apprehend the right person."

While there were some angry settlers in Hebron and Kiryat Arba who agreed with the statements, the settler leadership was quick to denounce them.

Those who spoke on the radio are "hooligans who do not represent Kiryat Arba and the settlements in Judea and Samaria," said Dani Dayan, who heads the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. "We condemn them without reservation."

But, he said, there was also "no justification" for the way the army entered two family homes located at the outpost and destroyed them in the middle of the night.

Orit Struck, a spokeswoman for the Hebron Jewish community, attacked the media and the politicians for focusing too much on the comments of a few isolated individuals, when the real crime that occurred was the destruction of the two homes.

"The real serious action is what the IDF did, and not the statement of some person who does not represent anyone," said Struck.

But a number of parliamentarians from the Left disagreed.

"The extreme Right's horrifying statements against the IDF testify to [their] loss of any connection with reality and the state," said MK Ophir Paz-Pines (Labor).

"We will not allow the extreme Right to dictate reality for the entire nation. These threats will not deter us from acting with determination against all illegal outposts," he said.

"The outposts on the hills of Judea and Samaria are creating a poisonous hotbed for groups of dangerous and uninhibited [people] who are trying to obliterate all human quality from the Jewish people in the State of Israel," MK Rabbi Michael Melchior (Labor) added.

"I support the security forces and call for them to continue their struggle against this wild malignancy sprouting in the hills."