According to a survey by Peace Now, some parts of 75 of the 102 outposts in the West Bank are on private Palestinian land. The survey, carried out by the organization's settlement monitoring team, found that the total area of the outposts is 16,196 dunams, out of which about 43 percent are on private Palestinian land (6,986 dunams); 7.6 percent are on lands pending recognition as state lands (1,226 dunams) and only about 49 percent of the area of the 75 outposts in question are on state land (7,984 dunams).

The Sasson Report on outposts stated that "the establishment of outposts on private Palestinian lands is absolutely prohibited," and that such construction "can in certain circumstances constitute a criminal act." Sasson also wrote that such construction was first and foremost "a serious affront on an individual's property rights" and that "the establishment of an outpost on private Palestinian land cannot by authorized, even retrospectively." According to Sasson, the outposts should be dismantled, "the sooner the better."

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According to the Peace Now report, 15 of the outposts are comprised of 70 percent private Palestinian property. Another 15 outposts stand on between 40 and 70 percent private Palestinian lands. Among them are one located near Susya in the southern Hebron hills, west Tapuah, Givat Hahish, Haroeh, and Mitzpeh Dani. The area of another 45 outposts has been constructed on between one and 40 percent Palestinian land.

"The data shows that contrary to the false impression the setters are trying to make, most of the outposts are built fully or partially on Palestinian land, which has been recognized even by the state," Dror Etkes, the head of the monitoring team, said yesterday. Etkes called construction on these lands "highway robbery."

"The removal of the outposts, and punishment of the people responsible for their construction, will bring Israel somewhat closer to the level of a country in which the rule of law prevails," Etkes said.

The Yesha Council of Settlements spokeswoman Emily Amrusi said the report was "a total lie based on a false data base unconnected with reality. From the start, 75 percent of the outposts hold a few thousand dunams. All the outposts except for a few are on state lands. Those on private lands are in the process of being purchased."

Etkes warned that if, as reported, the defense minister is to issue an order to take over the land on which the outpost of Givat Assaf stands to establish an army base after the outpost's inhabitants are evacuated, he would appeal to the High Court of Justice to rule whether reasonable authority had been employed.