Outposts will probably be removed in late October, say defense officials

Barak trying to negotiate with settler leaders in bid to reach compromise in which outposts will be evacuated by residents themselves.

By YAAKOV KATZ
migron outpost 248.88 ap (photo credit: AP)
migron outpost 248.88 ap
(photo credit: AP)
The evacuation of illegal outposts in the West Bank will likely take place after the High Holy Days, in late October, defense officials said on Sunday. An official order to evacuate the outposts has yet to be issued by the Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who is still trying to negotiate with settler leaders in an effort to reach a compromise in which the outposts would be evacuated by the residents themselves, the officials said. Last week, Barak met with settler leaders and stressed that the outposts would be evacuated in line with decisions made by previous governments led by Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert. Defense officials said on Sunday, however, that the evacuations would likely wait until after the holiday season. The postponement was due to Barak's preference to first exhaust negotiations with the settlers before ordering a forced evacuation. Barak will also likely wait for Ramadan to end and for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to return from his meeting with US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly later this month before carrying out the evacuations.