Netanyahu backs group told to quit West Bank

Dozens of Israeli settlers defied an army deadline for vacating a building they illegally occupy in a West Bank flashpoint yesterday after receiving support from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The settlers were supposed to leave by 3pm local time yesterday in keeping with defence minister Ehud Barak’s ruling that they had not obtained authorisation from the army before occupying the property, close to a site sacred to both Jews and Muslims.

The settlers say they bought the property legally, but Palestinian officials dispute this.

Mr Netanyahu, a strong supporter of expanding the Israeli presence in the occupied West Bank, “asked the defence minister last night to give the people in the house a chance to present their legal case,” the prime minister’s spokesman said.

The lack of action adds fresh doubts about Mr Netanyahu’s government, which is dominated by nationalist and Orthodox Jewish parties, to take on settlers who break the law.

“Netanyahu’s apparent support for these settlers’ move is another proof that [his] priority is consolidating the occupation rather than negotiating its end,” said Palestinian spokesman Ghassan Khatib.

“Such attitude and behaviour poses a serious challenge that the international community needs to deal with.”