Defense Minister Moshe Arens told the Knesset today that Israeli security forces have the means to preserve law and order on the West Bank and that a small number of Jews who take the law into their own hands do not represent the majority of the Jewish settlers in the territory.
Arens spokes in reply to questions during his first appearance before the Knesset as Defense Minister. He said the government would continue to promote massive Jewish settlement in the territory where unrest among the Arab population continued today.
Arens made no reference to his orders to dismantle a settlement near Hebron set up illegally several weeks ago by followers of Rabbi Meir Kahane’s extremist Kach movement. The site was surrounded by Israeli troops yesterday and the settlers reportedly were evacuated without incident. But as of this afternoon, none of the structures had been demolished. The Defense Ministry was reported to be negotiating with leaders of the religious township of Kiryat Arba, adjacent to Hebron for a compromise that would allow some of the Kach settlers to join existing legal settlements in the area.
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