Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz instructed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday to complete its preparations for the evacuation of illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank within two weeks.

Israeli army's preparations will include drawing up a plan to delineate the boundaries of the outposts, which would keep rightist activists away from the site, in order to avoid fierce confrontation, according to Ha'aretz newspaper.

The IDF seeks to avoid a repeat of the events at Amona, where violent clashes between settlers and security forces took place as IDF were trying to raze illegal structures.

Peretz issued his instructions after consulting on the matter with IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, Deputy Chief of Staff Moshe Kaplinsky, the head of the civil administrations office in the territories, the IDF coordinator for activities in the territories and legal officials.

The meeting also touched on legal matters pertaining to the evacuation. Peretz requested that the officials wrap up their preparations in anticipation of a flurry of legal activity in the run-up to the evacuation.

Israeli security forces razed nine houses slated for demolition in the illegal West Bank outpost of Amona on Feb. 1, when the evacuation turned into fierce clashes between right-wing protestors and Israeli forces, wounding at least 200 people.

Source: Xinhua