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What makes them problematic is they are challenging the government, not a foreign power. The writer is a journalist living in Jerusalem.
Settling on empty hilltops in Judea and Samaria has upset the Israeli government, sent shock waves through society and even touched a raw nerve in the settlement movement itself.
Hilltop settlement raises critical questions: Where is it legitimate for Jews to live? If the hilltops and outposts are illegal, what makes anything legal?
The government contends that this is a matter of "respect for the law." What law? If the outposts are illegal, why not prosecute the government ministries and local councils that assisted building them? And Bezek for providing phone lines? And companies that built roads, and banks that financed them?
To whom does this land belong?
As part of the road map Israel agreed to dismantle illegal outposts built after 2001, on condition that Palestinian terrorism stopped. The terror continued; but under heavy international pressure the Sharon government began the eviction process anyway.
The hilltop communities are considered illegal because they have not received government approval. They have received assistance, however, from local community councils and various ministries for infrastructure and development, including water, electricity, roads and telephone lines. They are protected by the IDF...