Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said he would uproot 10 rogue Jewish outposts in the West Bank today, setting the stage for possible confrontations with militant settlers.
The umbrella YESHA Council of Jewish settlements slammed Mr Ben-Eliezer's decision as a "reward and encouragement for terrorism" after 21 months of bloodshed in a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.
But the sight of troops dragging away settlers who have set up these outposts without official sanction could help him clip the wings of those in his Labor Party demanding he pursue a more moderate line in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's coalition.
Mr Ben-Eliezer has spearheaded the army's current reoccupation of seven West Bank cities in response to two Palestinian suicide bombings that killed 26 people in Israel last week.
In one of the most dramatic blows Israel has dealt in the West Bank offensive, army engineers blew up the fortress-like Palestinian security headquarters in Hebron yesterday where the military said 15 wanted militants had been holed up.
No bodies had been found by nightfall amid speculation the fugitives had sneaked out of the hilltop complex through secret tunnels before the thunderclap blasts.
"By the end of the day tomorrow (Sunday), 10 outposts have to come down. I intend to dismantle another 10 and continue with (the policy)," Mr Ben-Eliezer said in a speech to Labour Party activists last night.
Israeli peace activists have estimated there are at least 60 mini-settlements, many comprising only a handful of caravans, dotting hilltops on West Bank land captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.