GINOT ARYEH OUTPOST (West Bank), Dec 30: Notices to quit were posted on Tuesday on doors of homes in this West Bank outpost after orders for its dismantling were issued and the Israeli army braced for an emotional showdown with the settler inhabitants.

Defence ministry officials posted the notices, signed by central region commander General Moshe Kaplinsky, on doors of the pre-fabricated houses which are home to a handful of families from the nearby settlement of Ofra, in the central West Bank, residents said.

Ginot Aryeh is one of four outposts due to be dismantled in the coming days after orders were signed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz. The other three are uninhabited.

Plans for the removal of Migron, an outpost that is home to 43 families and was on an original list of eight drawn up earlier this month by Mr Mofaz, have been shelved amid fierce opposition.

The US-backed roadmap calls for dismantling all settlement outposts established since Mr Sharon came to power in March 2001, but settler leaders have denounced the prospect of a “transfer of Jews” as both illegal and immoral.

According to the settlement watchdog Peace Now, there are 103 outposts in the West Bank, 56 of which were set up after Sharon was elected.

Rachel Avital, a spokesman for the Ginot Aryeh settlers, said the settlers would vehemently oppose any evacuation, but would not resort to violence.

“We will do everything we can to oppose the dismantlement but we will not lift a hand against the forces of order,” she said.

Fellow Ginot Aryeh resident Oren Rond warned that they would not go quietly and would look to other settlers such as the inhabitants of Ofra to help resist the order.—AFP