Israel looking to move, not destroy, illegal settlement

Israel said it would comply with a court decision to remove an illegal wildcat settlement in the occupied West Bank, but the outposs could be moved just a few metres away to appease right-wing voters.

A court had ordered the demolition of the Israeli settlement of Amona in the occupied West Bank this year.

Far-right Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman - who is known for his support of settlers - said he would support the decision, but also appeared to be looking for a way out of destroying the homes.

"I have said before and I say again to the settlers of Amona, there is a judgement of the (Israeli) Supreme Court and we shall honour it," Lieberman said at a Jewish school in the occupied West Bank.

Last month, Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said that Lieberman's defence ministry was working to transplant Amona residents to confiscated Palestinian land a few metres (yards) from the present site, effectively legalising the rogue outpost.

"We proposed a lot of alternatives and I hope we can find an option that the Amona settlers will also accept," Lieberman said on Thursday.

Amona, home to about 40 families, was built on lands privately owned by Palestinians, who successfully petitioned Israeli courts for the outpost's removal.

After repeated delays, the Supreme Court ordered the settlers' eviction and the demolition of their homes by 25 December this year.  

The United States has said it is "deeply concerned" by the relocation plan.

"This would represent an unprecedented and troubling step that's inconsistent with prior Israeli legal opinion and counter to longstanding Israeli policy to not seize private Palestinian land for Israeli settlements," State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said last month.

Washington issued a fresh rebuke Wednesday over what it said was Israel's accelerated settlement building, in the face of mounting international concern.

"This significant expansion of the settlement activity poses a serious and growing threat to the viability of a two-state solution," President Barack Obama's spokesman Josh Earnest said.

"We are particularly troubled by the policy of retroactively approving illegal outposts and unauthorised settlements," Earnest added.

Settlements built on land occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are illegal according to international law.