When Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan met President Carter in Washington last September he did not promise to halt the settlements in the occupied territories, Dayan told the Knesset today. He said at the time it had been the previous government’s policy and it would continue to be the policy of Israel to settle the territories. However, Dayan told the Knesset, due to the American sensitivity and the ongoing negotiations with Egypt, it was decided to keep all settlements within a military framework.
Three such settlements have been established during the past few days–all three described as military strongholds, despite the fact that they will be manned by civilians, some of them Gush Emunim settlers. The settlements are Hares in western Samaria, Silat a-Daher and Tapuah, near the Arab town of Nablus in the heart of Samaria.
The government decided on these settlements several weeks ago. The Democratic Movement for Change appealed the decision before the Knesset Security and Foreign Affairs Committee but the committee approved the settlements. Government spokesmen are careful not to call the sites settlements, but stress that legally these are military sites.
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